The Big Four and the Tournament of Fear
by Floranagirl
Summary: The big four are back at Hogwarts but this time, one of them has a secret. A dragon sized secret. Back at school with a new peg leg, how far will the dragon rider go to keep his secret? To top it all off, Hogwarts is hosting a Triwizard Tournament, which threatens to test the loyalty and the friendship of the four teenagers while preparing them for the coming war.
1. Prologue

**A/N: A note about Riders of Berk/Defenders of Berk. While I would love to follow the TV show canonically as I have followed the movies, I don't see how it is possible to put 2 seasons worth of show into one summer, especially since that summer already contains an epic adventure. And, since I'm sure you'd kill me if I made Hiccup skip a year to stay on Berk and live out the TV show for the purpose of my story, the TV show is not cannon. That said, I will be borrowing some plots from it, and definitely any villains and any backstory/world building. Spoilers ahead.**

 **Tangled and Frozen belong to Disney, Brave belongs to Pixar, How to Train Your Dragon belongs to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks, and Rise of the Guardians belongs to William Joyce and DreamWorks.**

* * *

"While other places have ponies or parakeets, we have dragons!" -H

"What's a para keet? Is that like a cake?" -M

"It's a bird." -H

"Really? Were they common in the Dark Ages?" -R

"Yeah, and how many people really have pet ponies?" -J

"I was trying to be alliterative." -H

"Hey, at least it's better than being 'brave enough to see it'." -J

"Will you please just let that go!" -M

"Let it Go? I love that song!" -R

"Guys, guys! Is this really what you wanna waste your prologue bickering about?" -E

"He/She started it!" M + J

"Eugene is right. My story is over. It's time to move on." -H

"Yeah right, you get a whole TV show and a sequel. None of us got a sequel." -M

"I'm getting a TV show." -R

"Weren't you in _Once Upon a Time,_ Merida? I'm the real outcast. I never got any TV show, sequel, or even short film. Heck, I didn't even make it onto any Christmas cards." -J

"Hey, you have a book series!" -H

"Where I'm barely recognizable! It's nothing like your book series!" -J

"You wanna talk about real snubs? Rapunzel got to be in _Once Upon a Time_ but they replaced me with Snow White's prince! That's right, I was written out of my own story! Well, at least I got to be in this story." -E

"And don't forget, you'll be in our TV show." -R

"Well, at least I get a happy ending. Anyway. Enough about how Hollywood is snubbing us. Let's get to how the wizard world is doing it. Shall I narrate?" -E

"You always do." - M

"Then let's begin." -E

* * *

"Once upon a time there were four very special children. The first, a Scottish princess. One year ago, this brave princess challenged the traditions of her kingdom and changed the way her people made alliances. But those changes did not come without consequences. Though she managed to stop an outright war, her actions sent ripples of rumors and widespread distrust of wizards and witches into the populace.

The other princess, of the sun kingdom, waited in her tower, living under the oppressive thumb of her guardian, Mother Gothel. Despite the lack of freedom, the girl found herself growing stronger, learning how to weaponize her hair while protecting its magic secret.

The frost boy faced discrimination for being a wizard, for being a mudblood, for being poor, and for being a half-elf. But despite all of his problems, he managed to keep a happy disposition, dedicating his life to bringing fun to his sister and the children of his village.

Lastly, the Viking boy. For most of his life, the boy had to struggle to keep up with the stronger Vikings in his tribe. He was always the last to get there, always the first to screw up. But this summer, all that changed.

And facing these four special children? Pitch Black, the Boogeyman. Though his plans were foiled several times by these children, his power grew. The Guardians, seeking to stop his rise, are pulling out all the stops to unite the wizarding world against the new evil. This year, they are taking a desperate measure, instituting a Triwizard tournament. And the four children will have to survive it if they want to bring peace to their world.

* * *

 **A/N: Like my other stories, this won't be updated until I finish the rough draft. Hopefully that will be sooner rather than later, but I can't give an exact date, as I have many other projects and a real (8 hours a day) job now. Hopefully it will be ready to post in 1-3 months, but it could take longer.**


	2. Where's Hiccup?

**A/N: Hey everyone, I am back, and from this point on, this story will be updated weekly. Sorry this took so long, but I hope the story I've crafted is worth it. Oh, and around July I realized I could answer concerns in my profile, so next time I have a long break between years, you can check my profile for the status of my story. I've no intention of abandoning this. I plan to write all 7 years. Thanks for all the reviews and favorites, etc. Now, on with the tale:**

* * *

"Emma! Slow down!" Jack called out to his sister. She paid him no heed as she raced out into the sun. Jack smiled and shook his head. Ever since Rapunzel said she was coming, Emma had been super excited. Maybe even a little more than Jack.

"I'm going to meet a real princess!" Emma squealed as she danced in shoes that were too big for her.

"You've already met Rapunzel," Jack said. "Two years ago, remember?"

As soon as Jack said it, he wished he hadn't. Emma suddenly became somber.

"I don't remember much of anything from that year," she said. She'd been sick nearly the whole year. Jack quickly changed the subject.

"Hey, don't be too impressed with Rapunzel," he said. "Merida's a princess, too. She won't like it if you ignore her just because Rapunzel is prettier, er, I mean, nicer."

"I promise I'll be on my best behavior," Emma swore, her hand over her heart. Then she added in a whiny voice, "Now when are they getting here?"

"They're both coming by horse," Jack explained. "Rapunzel sent me an owl yesterday. She'll be here soon."

As if to prove his point, the children heard hoofbeats. Emma started to run. Jack followed, then sprinted ahead, which was easy considering Jack was barefoot and his sister was in ill-fitting shoes. Jack was nearly as excited to have his friends visit as Emma. He wondered if Hiccup would show up. Earlier that summer, Jack sent a letter to all three of his friends inviting them to his village, but only Rapunzel and Merida replied. Jack hoped Hiccup's replies were just lost in a dragon attack or something.

As Jack neared the carriage, he stopped suddenly. When Rapunzel told Jack she was coming by carriage, he assumed a small carriage with one or two horses, not the brigade that was coming down the path. Horse after horse, dozens of soldiers were both in front of and behind the golden carriage.

Jack stared in shock as the horses rode by. Some of the guards gave him odd looks. Emma, panting from the chase, ran right in front of the lead horse, Jack pulled her back as the white beast reared up.

The whole troop stopped. The horse leaned down to smell Jack.

"Maximus?" Jack asked. The horse smiled and licked him.

"What's the hold up?" an older woman called out from the carriage. Gothel, Jack realized. The carriage door opened and Rapunzel tumbled out. She raced to Jack and hugged him so tightly they both fell over.

"What's with the parade?" Jack asked. "I didn't know you were giving us a show."

"Oh … um, my parents insisted," Rapunzel said, brushing back her long blonde braid. "There've been some bad reports. About magic and muggles. It's not so bad in Corona, but when I wrote and told them I was going to England, they insisted."

"Are the guards coming back to Hogwarts this year?" Jack asked, pointing his thumb at Maximus.

"Only me and Maximus," the Captain of the Guard said. "The King and Queen believe that a concentrated force of wizards will be safe from muggle attacks and, as a muggle, I should be able to diffuse any hostile situation during the special event."

"Special event?" Jack questioned.

"Er, I wasn't supposed to mention that. You'll see when you get to school," the guard said quickly. While Jack's curiosity was aroused, he decided not to press for more details. He didn't want to waste the fun time he had planned for his friends by obsessing about the future.

"Sorry, Jack," Rapunzel said with a shrug, "but you already said your village seemed a bit scared of magic, and I didn't know what kind of places we'd be passing through."

"Yeah, well, no one here even knows you're a witch, or a princess, for that matter. Until they see this entourage, of course."

Rapunzel nodded and turned to the soldiers, "You are dismissed."

"But princess!" the Captain of the Guard protested. Rapunzel held up her hand, commanding authority. It actually took Jack by surprise. Normally she was so meek and mild mannered. But the Guard was so eager to obey, it must have made it easier for her.

"Jack, your village is small, correct?"

Jack nodded, "There are only, like, ten families, max."

"Captain, I shall not need protection in such a small town, even if it is mostly muggles. Especially if Jack is with me. You can patrol the woods until I am ready to go."

With a sigh, the Captain of the Guard bowed. Jack signed for Emma to lead Rapunzel up the path to their house. To Jack's displeasure, Gothel began to follow.

Jack slowed down, letting the girls get ahead. Once Emma and Rapunzel were out of earshot, Jack turned to Gothel sharply, "You know, I only actually invited Merida and Rapunzel here."

"You haven't been out of your dinky little town recently, have you?" Gothel challenged. "The world is far worse than you can imagine. Even in Corona there is talk of witch trials, though not as frequently as here. If you think I'll let Rapunzel out of my sight-"

"If I recall correctly," Jack said, cutting Gothel off, "we both want the same thing. We want Rapunzel to be safe. Maybe I don't trust why you want her to be safe, but nevertheless, we actually have the same goal. Why not work together instead of against each other?"

"What do you have in mind?" Gothel asked shrewdly.

"This is my home. I know who to trust and who not to trust here. You'll just be getting in the way. Why don't you keep your eye on the Captain of the Guard? After all, you saw how he obeys Rapunzel. All she has to do is ask him to take her to her parents. He'd comply without hesitation, and he's going to be at Hogwarts..."

Gothels eyes widened. With a last look at Rapunzel, Gothel darted off after the captain.

Jack laughed. Jack didn't trust Gothel at all, but at least he'd figured out how to manipulate her into giving Rapunzel what she wanted. Well, he was a Slytherin after all.

* * *

Merida leaned forward on Angus as they rode down the countryside. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going. She was using the point spell and directions Jack gave her. Earlier, she cast a speed spell on Angus so he would be able to make the journey in half a day. Mum was way more lenient now, and she knew Merida would be able to survive in the wild for a few days, but still, Merida wanted to spend her vacation with her friends, not just traveling.

As she drew close to where Burgess should be, Merida cast the slowing spell, to bring Angus back to a normal speed. Merida recognized the place. Jack led them through this glen before.

A branch cracked. Merida pulled Angus's reins. No telling what lay in this forest. Mor'du might be gone, but Merida well remembered Jack's tales about the black sand horses roaming around here.

Close by, she heard hoofbeats. Merida urged Angus on. The hoofbeats drew closer, and then, out of the woods jumped a white horse with a rider. Merida pulled Angus to a halt as she recognized Maximus.

"Halt," the man on Maximus said. "No one is to proceed into the village armed!" the man said, looking at Merida's bow.

"You here with Rapunzel?" Merida asked. The man nodded.

"For safety, please turn over your weapons," the man said, drawing his sword. Merida reluctantly slung the bow off her shoulder and handed it over. She didn't like giving it up, but she recognized the need for caution after she and Jack, and almost Rapunzel, were kidnapped last year. And it helped that she recognized the man as the Captain of the Guard from their third year.

Merida started heading into the village. The guard trailed not far behind her. She remembered the path to Jack's house and took it, avoiding most of the village.

Jack, Rapunzel, and Jack's sister were outside. Rapunzel had her feet in the lake. Merida pulled Angus to a halt and dismounted, running up to her friends.

"Hey, 'Punzel?" Merida asked. "Can you get your guard to give me back my bow?"

Rapunzel jumped out of the water, splashing Jack as she ran to the guard. She took a few minutes talking to him before returning with the bow and arrows.

"See, this is what I expected," Jack said, pointing at Angus. "Just a girl on a horse. No entourage. No fancy coach."

"Sorry, my parents insisted," Rapunzel said. "Merida's parents aren't half as over-protective as mine."

"Aye, even though there's a lot of tension in the kingdom, Mum trusts me. We've had a few problems with muggles storming the castle trying to capture me, and one instance of a wizard trying to 'liberate' me and me brothers from our muggle parents. But the lot o' them were stopped relatively peaceful-like. How are things here, Jack?"

"Oh, fine," Jack said, eyeing his sister. Merida got the feeling he didn't want to say more in front of the little girl.

"Hey, Rapunzel? Did I hear you came in a carriage?" Merida asked.

Rapunzel nodded.

"Maybe the lass would like a ride," Merida suggested.

"A ride in a real carriage? Just like a real princess?!" the little girl asked, jumping up and down. Merida could see she had her brother's energy.

"Of course you can have a ride," Rapunzel said. She took the child's hand and led her to the carriage. Merida and Jack helped the little girl into the carriage as Rapunzel said a few words to the driver.

"Now, if you want to behave like a princess," Merida instructed, "sit up straight, and wave your hand out the window gracefully. And whatever you do, don't put your weapons on the table."

The child looked at her quizzically.

"Never mind, just have fun," Merida corrected. Rapunzel left the driver and the carriage started going around the village. Jack, Rapunzel and Merida walked behind, waving to the girl.

"Jack … what's your sister's name?" Merida asked.

"Emma Pippa Frost," Jack replied. "Haven't I told you before?"

"I don't think so," Merida said.

"Yeah, you never talk about yourself," Rapunzel added.

"That's why it took me almost a whole year before I learned you weren't a pureblood. And why you had to run off before we found out you were half elf," Merida said.

"Shh," Jack looked over his shoulder as they crossed into the town. "The others here don't know anything about that. I don't want them to."

"Are you having a rough time?" Rapunzel asked gently.

"Yes," Jack said with a sigh. "I don't want Emma to know. She's loyal to me. Too loyal. If she hears what some of the other kids have been saying, some of her friends, she might try to stand up for me. And I won't be here to protect her once school starts. She's not like me. She's normal. I don't want them to shun her because of who _my_ dad is."

"It can't be that bad," Merida said.

"It is. With the kids, at least. At best, they ignore me. At worst, they scream and lock themselves in their houses. But enough about that. I didn't invite you here to give me a pity party. Any reason why you didn't use the Floo? I'm hooked up, you know. It would have been safer."

Merida and Rapunzel shared a guilty glance.

"We've … been talking over summer," Merida said. "I've been going to Rapunzel's almost every week."

"And Gothel lets you?"

"She doesn't like it," Rapunzel admitted, "but she said I could have Merida over if I promised to stay with her in the Infirmary this year."

"And you're okay with that?"

Rapunzel shrugged, "After last year, I figured Mother would make me stay with her anyway. I think I'm lucky I got anything out of it at all."

"Okay, so why the horses?"

"We … we talked about your situation," Merida said carefully. "We know you don't have much Floo Powder. We didn't want you to waste any on us."

"We already felt guilty about taking it two years ago," Rapunzel added.

"You guys, I have more, you know. I may not have a father, but I'm not _that_ destitute."

"You don't wear shoes," Merida pointed out.

"Okay, okay. Maybe I don't have the best financial situation. But really, now that I work for the school, it's not as bad as it was. I'm actually thinking of buying shoes. Or maybe new ice skates. Emma's definitely going to need new skates in a year or so. Maybe I'll save up for them."

By this time, the carriage had circled around the town. The driver pulled the horses to a halt and Emma popped out.

She grabbed Jack around the waist and swung around on him.

"Now what do you say to Rapunzel?" Jack asked.

Emma backed away and curtsied to the princess, "Thank you very much for letting me ride in your carriage."

Rapunzel blushed, "Any time. I don't have much use for a carriage in my tower."

The commotion of the carriage had drawn a few villagers, including children, out. Apparently their fear of Jack was not enough to keep them from gawking at the golden carriage. Emma turned to Rapunzel and looked up at her with big brown eyes.

"May my friends ride in your carriage, too?"

Rapunzel consented and soon her carriage was crawling with children, leaving the teenagers alone. Rapunzel instructed the driver to take the kids around as much as they wanted and Jack took his friends back towards the woods.

As they neared the edge of town, a few teenage girls stopped in the middle of their tasks to stare at Jack. He waved to them, and the girls giggled.

"Hmph," Merida said as they walked past. "I thought you said you weren't popular."

"Not with the kids. The teenage girls? That's another story. I guess going through puberty away from home has some advantages."

The muggle girls went back to their tasks, but Merida couldn't help but notice that they kept stealing glances at Jack. Even she had to admit, he really had grown into his looks. While Jack had always been good looking, over the summer he'd gotten downright handsome.

Jack was taller, and thin as a rail, and his face was much more sharply defined. His crooked smile only added to the charm. No fear of magic could overshadow Jack's looks.

Merida rolled her eyes at her own thoughts as Jack led them away from the girls and the town, back to his lake. He walked out on the water, turning it to ice beneath his feet. The girls followed him, Rapunzel delighting in the fish swimming beneath the ice.

Jack took them to the opposite side of the lake where a large tree root jutted out. The three sat down on it. As soon as Jack took his feet off the lake, it started to melt. Soon Rapunzel and Merida were splashing their feet.

"Can you swim?" Merida asked Rapunzel.

"No. There's a waterfall and a river right by my tower, that's how I wash my hair, but I've never tried swimming."

"Oh, it's fun," Jack said. He set his staff down on the root and jumped in. After a moment his head popped up from under the lake, "Of course, I have to concentrate to keep the lake from freezing once I'm in. The last thing I want is to freeze myself under the ice."

Jack did a backstroke a few paces before he floated up, on top of an ice flow, and jumped back on the base of the tree. He shook himself like a dog, getting both the girls wet.

"Your home is very nice," Rapunzel commented as she splashed her feet. "It's a shame Hiccup couldn't come."

"Yeah," Jack stared into the water, freezing patches of it with his staff. "I invited him. He never wrote back."

"If it makes you feel better, he hasn't been all that forthright with me, either," Merida said. "I got one lousy letter asking for the blueprints for my saddle, of all things. I sent them to him, and then zip. Not even a thank you."

"I haven't heard from Hiccup all summer, either," Rapunzel said, plucking a flower off the tree and threading it through her hair. "I hope he's alright."

* * *

Hiccup lay in bed. He knew he should get up. It wasn't good to just lounge about. But his leg still really, really hurt, even with the best Wizard-Viking medicine Gothi could conjure. Hiccup could work past the pain, after all so many other Vikings did it, but it still felt really weird to look down his leg and see it end in a stump.

He was kind of glad they put the metal leg on before he woke up. It really helped. And the fact that his absent foot was itchy, that was just weird.

Toothless jumped down from the beams, landing on Hiccup. The dragon nudged his rider.

"I know. You need to fly, right?" Hiccup asked. Toothless bounded around the room. Before Hiccup could tell Toothless that _he_ didn't feel ready to fly, his father Stoick the Vast came in.

"Are you going to visit those Hogwarts friends of yours?" Stoick asked. "I saw the invite."

Hiccup looked down guiltily, "I can't … my leg."

Stoick frowned, "Son, I know it hurts. But you're alive. Thank Thor. You can't just mope around in bed feeling sorry for yourself. It's not the Viking way."

"But …"

"No buts. You were up walking the very first day."

"I can go short distances. But a whole school year? Maybe I should just stay home," Hiccup said, sulking.

"All the others who have lost limbs do it," Stoick pointed out. "Look, Gobber's hosting a stump meeting right now. I think they're planning this year's Stump Day. Why don't you attend? It'll be good to get out; to see how others adjusted to life after losing their limbs."

Hiccup reluctantly got out of bed and climbed onto Toothless. He knew his father was right. He had to move on, just like everyone else on Berk. That was why he walked outside that very first day, before he knew what had happened. But once he saw everyone getting along with dragons, he slipped back into feeling sorry for himself.

Toothless jumped out the window and spread his wings. Hiccup tried to move his ankle to open the pad, only to remember he no longer had an ankle. Instead, he had to move his shin to control Toothless's tail.

Toothless's tail …. how could Hiccup be so selfish? Here he was complaining about having no foot, and Toothless only had half a tail. At least Hiccup could still walk under his own control, but Toothless would never be able to fly without a rider.

Well, if Hiccup could learn to ride a dragon, he could learn to walk on a peg leg.

After a quick flight around the island, Hiccup turned Toothless to the Meade Hall. Landing Toothless inside the large doors, Hiccup saw Bucket, Mulch, Gobber and a few other limb-challenged vikings sitting around a table.

Hiccup steered Toothless towards them.

"Ah, good to see you up and about," Gobber said. "How's the leg holding up?"

"Well … I haven't bent it out of shape or anything," Hiccup said as he unhooked it from the control pedal.

"Good. Now we can commence Berk's 267th Stump Day meeting," Gobber announced. Hiccup looked around. For once in his life, he wasn't the weird one. He wasn't the outcast. He finally belonged. Maybe losing his leg was worth it.

* * *

Flynn waved the stolen wand and flames sputtered out, lighting the campsite.

"Is that all?" the none-mute Stabbington brother asked.

"Hey, it's not my fault this wand has a kneazle core. That's the weakest core available. And besides, stolen wands never produce half as well as wands won in duels."

"We did the best we could!" the brother snapped.

"Hey, I'm just saying you get what you pay for."

Flynn manually poked the sticks, making the flames grow brighter. The twins turned to one another and had a silent discussion. Flynn hated it when they did that. It was bad enough that they kidnapped him, but now they were ignoring him. Of course, Flynn wasn't quite the prisoner he had been. After nearly a year of trying to get away, Flynn came back willingly, hoping to get information on the Boogyman. He knew he had to tread carefully. If he outright asked about Pitch Black, the brothers might clam up. Or might catch on to what Flynn was doing.

Flynn picked up a stick and skewered it through a fish. Boy, how he missed the food at Hogwarts. While Flynn often stole food, there was nothing quite like a legitimate meal.

"So … "Flynn started as the food cooked, "how'd you guys get into thievery, anyway?"

The brothers stared at him. Flynn rolled his eyes and looked back at the fish. This might be harder than he thought. But Flynn had no doubts he could do it. He had to figure out what the brothers were up to and help save the world from Pitch Black, even if he had to use all the smolder he had.

* * *

 **A/N: Now to answer questions I received over my break.**

 **For those of you asking about who the Champions will be: There will only be one from Hogwarts. As for who it is, you'll have to wait and see ;)**

 **There will be some Hicstrid in this.  
**

 **Hannah Plarse: Jack is put in Slytherin because he doesn't fit in any of the other houses particularly well. He isn't driven by knowledge so not a Ravenclaw. He hates hard work and deadlines, so not the 'house of toil' Hufflepuff. He could fit into Gryffindor, but Merida always ends up there because her movie is called Brave. Since none of the others fit Slytherin (Blood purist, evil, ambitious), and since this fandom's rules dictate that the four children must be in different houses, Jack is defaulted to Slytherin.  
**


	3. A Changing World

After a while, Jack got bored with swimming and sitting on a tree root. He tapped his staff on the lake, freezing it solid. Rapunzel wished she had skates or shoes to join Jack and Merida. Jack had offered to get her old shoes from his sister, but Rapunzel turned him down. She'd been barefoot for a year. She wasn't about to start wearing shoes now. Besides, the cold didn't bother her so much as long as she wasn't stepping on ice. She was happy to just watch Jack and Merida zooming around the lake.

Suddenly Rapunzel noticed the bushes close to her moving. Six teenage boys stepped out onto the frozen lake.

"Are you friends of Jack?" Rapunzel asked sweetly. The teenagers glared at her, in what were most defiantly not friendly expressions. Rapunzel backed herself closer to the tree.

"Well, well, ain't you a pretty thing," one of the boys said, leering at her. "Come with me, while my buddies take care of your friend."

"J … Jack!" Rapunzel called.

Jack and Merida stopped in their dance, turning to stare at Rapunzel. One of the boys reached for her arm, but Rapunzel jumped over the large tree root. She tried to run to Jack, but slipped on his ice, falling closer to her attackers.

She screamed as they reached for her. Before anyone touched her, a blast of wind knocked the boys all back. Quick as she could, Rapunzel crawled over to Jack, hiding behind him and Merida.

"What do you want, Evan?" Jack demanded. The ringleader of the group sneered.

"We're tired of all the girls talking about how dreamy you are! Leave some for the rest of us, freak."

"You got a problem with wizards?" Merida demanded, pulling out her wand. Before she could cast any spells, Jack put his hand on hers, pushing her wand down.

"It wasn't enough that all the Burgess girls want you!" another boy called. "Now you're bringing in outsiders."

"Hey! I was friends with them before. Now get out of here. Merida specializes in fire spells and you're standing on ice."

The boys looked down, suddenly realizing that the lake was melting under them. They scrambled away just before it started to crack. Jack didn't bother to refreeze it.

Once they were gone, Merida turned to Jack, "Why'd you stop me? I could have cursed them!"

"Like you did with your mom? Face it, Princess. Wizards cursing muggles like that is half the reason they hate us so much. Besides, I don't want to antagonize them too much. They might take revenge on my sister when I'm not here."

"Do you think they were after my hair?" Rapunzel said, pulling her braid around.

"Nah. No one knows what it can do, especially muggles. Those guys were just jealous 'cause I've got two beautiful princesses on my arm today."

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" Rapunzel asked, blushing as red as Merida's hair. Jack gave her his crooked smile.

"'Course. Why would I lie about something like that?" Rapunzel didn't respond. Mother Gothel was always telling her how clumsy and sloppy she was. Did Jack really think she was pretty, or was he just trying to make her feel better?

Jack and Merida weren't paying attention to her anymore. Jack was trying to deny that he'd called Merida beautiful, while Merida was pretending to pound him for thinking that she was a fragile little doll.

Rapunzel missed Hiccup. He could stop their fighting any day.

* * *

On Berk, Hiccup was having trouble stopping a fight. It started with the twins. It always seemed to start with them. Apparently, Barf and Belch, Ruffnut and Tuffnut's dragon, accidentally started a fire near Mildew's house. He put it out, but it destroyed most of his crops.

"I'm telling you, Stoick," Mildew spat, "I've had it up to my ears with these dragons! They cause nothing but trouble!"

"The dragons don't mean any harm," Hiccup interjected.

"I'm only the chief of the Vikings," Stoick replied. "I can't control wild animals."

"We did mighty fine when we killed the bloody beasts," Mildew protested.

"DAD!"

"We're not going to start killing the dragons again," Stoick placated.

Mildew turned to the crowd who had gathered to watch the fight. "They've stolen our fish! Destroyed our homes! And are disrupting our way of life!"

Several of the Vikings were nodding in agreement with Mildew. Especially, Hiccup noticed with dismay, the Vikings who had lost limbs in the war.

Mildew, energized by the attention he was receiving, continued, "If you won't get rid of the beasts, at least have the decency to keep them contained! Put 'em back in cages!"

Stoick looked over the crowd and bellowed, "I will deal with this problem. Go back to rebuilding your houses! You too, Mildew."

Grumbling, Mildew walked off, knocking into Hiccup with his stick. Hiccup didn't know what his problem was. Sure, Mildew was known in their village for complaining, but ever since Hiccup killed the Red Death, he'd gotten downright nasty. He never passed an opportunity to say something cruel if he could. It was quite odd, because everyone else in the village was the opposite. They had all mocked him during the years he thought he was a squib and a screw up, but after the Red Death incident, they practically worshiped him. A little annoying, actually, but a welcome change.

Stoick, Gobber, and Hiccup went into the Chief's hut.

"You can't get rid of the Dragons!" Hiccup protested.

"I don't intend to," Stoick said, "but Mildew is right. Something needs to be done."

"Let me handle it," Hiccup said. "I'm sure that me and the other dragon riders can think of something. We'll take our dragons with us to school, we'll come up-"

"NO!" Stoick said. "You are not to take those dragons to school with you."

"What, but-"

"Hiccup, you know we have many enemies in the Viking world, the Outcasts, the Bog-Burglers, the Meatheads. Even our alliances are a tad bit shaky. Why, the alliance with the Berserker Tribe is coming up for renewal this year. If any of them found out we were training dragons, well, they might think we were building an army or something. Berk has just ended its war with dragons. I don't want to get us in a war with Vikings."

"But there are no Vikings at Hogwarts! The only one was Camicazi, and she's now at Durmstrang," Hiccup argued.

"Didn't you say one of your friends' kingdoms was at war with some Vikings?" Stoick demanded.

"Yeah, but not our tribe."

"It doesn't matter. If they think we're building a dragon army, they might try to strike first. I don't want that. We've lost enough in our recent conflict. We don't have the resources for another war. You are not to tell anyone outside of Berk about our dragons."

"Then what am I supposed to do? Take a year off of school to train the dragons and have various misadventures with the other dragon riders around the isle of Berk?"

Stoick rubbed his head.

"You know," Gobber interjected, "Hiccup did a fine job of hiding that Night Fury around Berk. No one suspected what he was up to."

"Except Astrid," Hiccup corrected, then shut up when he realized where Gobber was going.

"It's a shame there are no deep forests for you to hide Toothless in at school," Gobber said knowingly.

"The Dark Forest!" Hiccup practically jumped for joy. "Dad, I can take Toothless and hide him in the dark forest adjacent to the school."

"No one will find him?" Stoick questioned.

"No, no one goes in the Dark Forest. It's filled with all kinds of scary magical creatures like trolls, unicorns, centaurs, and Pitch Black's horses. Even if someone did see Toothless, they would just assume he was a wild dragon."

Stoick sighed, and Hiccup knew that he'd won the argument. Toothless would come with him to school. So that just left all the other dragons.

"I'll work really hard to train the other dragons before I go," Hiccup said. "Maybe me and the other dragon riders can fix this before school starts."

Hiccup backed out of the room. Astrid was waiting for him outside.

"So … how'd it go?" she asked, punching him lightly.

"Not great," Hiccup said. All around, dragons were running amok, stealing food, landing on and shattering roofs, sneezing on buildings and setting them on fire. There was even flaming poop. "What am I gonna do?"

Hiccup dropped his head. Toothless took that moment to fire a plasma blast into the sky; the other dragons all scattered away.

"I've got it!" Astrid said. "If we can train a few dragons to police the others..."

"Then they can hold off the other dragons while we're away at school" Hiccup said, finishing the thought. He loved being able to finish his girlfriend's sentences. And he loved that he had a girlfriend. "Okay, get the riders, meet me at the arena. I'll round up a few of the dragons to train."

Astrid nodded and ran off. Hiccup hopped on Toothless and flew off. They would make this work.

* * *

After a fun filled three days, Jack hoisted Emma onto his back, her legs wrapped around him, as they waved goodbye to the two princesses. Jack hadn't been sure the girls would stay over night, after all there were no inns in Burgess and none of his neighbors were particularly hospitable towards witches, but both girls were amenable to giving Jack's hut a try. Jack let them have his mat while he slept on the floor. Mother Gothel stayed in Rapunzel's carriage, which was very well cushioned, and Rapunzel's guards, soldiers that they were, slept outside.

Jack wasn't sure how the girls, especially Rapunzel, would adjust to sleeping on a pile of straw, but they managed fine. Maybe Sandman gave them pleasant dreams.

But all fun things eventually end, and before too long the girls had to depart. So with a heavy heart Jack watched them go.

"I like your friends," Emma said as Jack carried her back to his house.

"Yeah, they're great."

"I had the strangest dream though," Emma said as Jack set her down, "about Rapunzel. In my dream, her hair was glowing."

"Really?" Jack said in mock shock. A few years ago, Rapunzel used her magic hair to heal Jack's sister. Emma was asleep at the time, Jack didn't think she'd seen Rapunzel work her magic.

"Yeah, silly dream I guess," Emma said, "unless wizards can do spells like that?"

"No. I don't think so," Jack said. "If they can, we haven't learned about it yet. It's just a dream. Forget about it."

Jack didn't like lying to his sister, but with the muggle world the way it was now, Jack didn't want to put Rapunzel in more danger.

"Hey, why don't we play a game?" Jack suggested, trying to change the subject. "Race me to the top of the hill."

Jack and Emma took off towards the highest slope in their vicinity, which wasn't very big, but it would suffice for Jack's game. Emma started to advance on him, despite her shorter legs, she obviously shared her brother's energy.

Sometimes, Jack would let her win, but not today. He touched his staff to the grass, freezing it just as Emma's foot made contact.

"No fair!" she cried as she slipped and fell flat on her face.

"Hurry up, slow poke," Jack called back, sprinting the distance. Sure enough, he beat his sister to the top of the hill. As she struggled to get up on the icy patch, Jack grabbed a large, loose piece of bark and ripped it off the tree. It would do. He set the bark on the ground and, sure that his sister wasn't watching, donned the invisibility cloak that he was keeping for his friends.

Jack held his breath as his sister finally got to the top of the hill. She paused.

"Jack?" she called. Jack gave no response. Emma tried again, "Jack, are you playing hide and seek?"

Jack carefully walked around his sister. The twigs snapping seemingly by themselves made the eight-year-old jump.

"Jack this isn't funny!" Emma called out nervously. Suddenly, Jack gave her a shove so that she fell onto the bark. With a touch of his staff he created an ice path and down on the makeshift sled she went.

Jack created wind and ice, flying as he guided the sled around trees on the way down. Emma screamed as they fell, but Jack could tell she was laughing inside. It was fun.

When the sled stopped moving, Jack pulled off his cloak.

"Again! Again!" Emma cried. Jack grabbed the bark and raced Emma back to the top of the hill, ready to have more fun.

* * *

Hiccup landed Toothless in the forest near London.

"Alright bud, now you've got to stay out of sight," Hiccup instructed. Toothless caught sight of some butterflies and went to chase them. Hiccup turned and walked through the city. Diagon Alley was usually open. Anyone could just walk in. But not this time. This time, several wizards stood outside the alley. The wizards blocked the alley as Hiccup approached.

"What's going on?" Hiccup said as he walked up to them.

"Wand, please?" one of the men demanded. Hiccup pulled out his wand. The man looked at it, then stepped back and let Hiccup pass.

"Sorry," the other man said, "but we've had a few muggle riots. Just trying to keep the alley safe, especially as students purchase their supplies."

Hiccup started to walk away when a thought occurred to him, "You know ... you might consider hiding the entrance. In Hufflepuff Basement, we've got a nice solid brick wall. Wizards just have to tap a specific barrel near the wall to open it. Might be more secure."

Once in Diagon Alley, it did not take Hiccup long to find his friends. They were gathered around the pet shop, admiring a cute Kneazel.

"Hey guys," Hiccup said.

"Hey Hic …. Oh my …," Merida said. All three of them were staring in shock.

"H … Hiccup," Rapunzel stammered, "Are you ..."

"What happened?" Jack asked.

"Where's your leg?" Merida whispered. Hiccup glanced down at his metal foot. He'd forgotten his friends didn't know. They weren't used to people losing limbs like on Berk. Hiccup almost started to tell them about Toothless when he remembered his father's command.

"Oh … this … Well, you know, dragons," Hiccup shrugged.

"Here, maybe I can heal," Rapunzel said. She started to kneel down, but Hiccup stepped away.

"NO!" Hiccup shouted. "Please don't. Everyone on Berk knows I lost it. If you managed to grow it back, there would be too many questions. Besides, life on Berk has gotten immensely better since I lost the leg. They don't call me Hiccup the Useless anymore. I finally fit in."

His friends stared at him like they couldn't believe it. Finally, Jack broke the ice.

"Is it gross?" Jack asked.

"Not any more," Hiccup said with a sigh of relief. "It was for the first month, but it's healed over now. That's why I couldn't come to visit you, Jack. Sorry."

"Hey, no big deal," Jack said. "Do you need to sit down or anything? We can go get your supplies."

"No, thanks. I'm pretty good at walking on this thing," Hiccup said, kicking up his metal leg, "at least on dry ground. Promise me you won't make ice, and I'll be fine."

"I promise," Jack said, holding his staff up so it didn't accidentally touch the ground.

"Now, where to first?" Hiccup said, trying to change the subject.

"Looks like we'll need new supplies for Herbology this year," Rapunzel said looking at her list. "Why not start there?"

The four set off down the street, Hiccup's leg clicking on the cobblestones.

* * *

Rapunzel tried to focus on getting her supplies but Hiccup's missing leg really distracted her. She kept glancing over at it. Sure, she'd seen people with missing limbs before, like the Hook Hand Thug at Hogsmeade, or Gobber, or King Fergus, but she'd never seen any of them with their limbs, so it didn't look as horrible. She didn't even know if her hair could re-grow limbs. Certainly it could heal broken bones, but grow them back?

The shopkeeper leaned over the counter, "Can I help you find anything, dearie?"

Rapunzel looked down at her list, "Um, yes, dragon-hide gloves? I lost my old pair."

"Right over here," the shopkeeper pointed to a stack of gloves. Rapunzel picked up a pair and turned back to her friends, only to notice Hiccup was balking.

"Something wrong?" Rapunzel asked as she paid for them.

"It's … do you have any faux dragon-hide gloves?" Hiccup asked. The shopkeeper shook her head. Hiccup quickly exited the store. Rapunzel slipped the gloves into her bag before she and the others followed him outside.

"What's wrong with you?" Merida demanded. "We've needed dragon-hide gloves since year one. You're acting very peculiar."

"I .. I'm sorry," Hiccup said. "It's just … the thought of using dragon-hide … I lost my leg because of a dragon, you know."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Rapunzel said. "It's like wearing your leg on your arm."

"Yeah, kind of," Hiccup said. "No more talk of dragons, or dragon products, please."

"Of course," Rapunzel agreed.

"Need me to carry your stuff?" Jack offered.

"No thanks," Hiccup said. "Look, let's just move on."

And so they did. They talked about everything that happened over their summer, except for what happened to Hiccup. And they bought their supplies. To everyone's surprise, Hiccup bought really weird things. Like leather. He bought a lot of leather.

"Why d'you need that?" Merida asked. "It's not on my list."

"It's … for my dad. Yeah. My dad needs more leather. Berk is fairly self sufficient, but something's come up … we need more leather. We can't wait for Trader Johann to come to port."

"What d'you need more leather for?" Merida asked. Hiccup looked really nervous, but before he could answer, Rapunzel felt the air turn cold. She looked at Jack. He was glaring off in the distance. She turned to see what he was looking at.

The blond boy from Slytherin was walking up the path.

"Let's get out of here," Rapunzel suggested, but it was too late. The Slytherin had seen them.

* * *

"Been to the pawn shop lately?" Derek asked with derision. He then noticed Hiccup, "Aren't you that squib? What happened to your leg?"

"He's not a squib, and if you don't get out of here, I'll freeze your leg," Jack said, holding his staff in a threatening manner.

"Excuse, me, but this is a public place, elf. You can't make threats here. But I'm feeling nice today, so I won't give you detention."

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, lowing his staff.

"Didn't you know? I've been made a prefect. I suppose Professor Pitchiner favors me after all. I have the power to dock points or give you detention anytime I feel like it."

"That can't be true."

"Oh, it is. See you at school." Derek laughed as he walked off.

"That can't be true," Jack mumbled to himself.

"Don't worry. Prefects aren't supposed to abuse their power like that," Hiccup said.

"Yeah," Rapunzel added. "I'm sure they'll go over the rules we have to follow on the train.

"Wait, are you saying you're a prefect too?" Jack asked. To Jack's dismay, all three of them nodded.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Merida admitted. "I think it has to do with me mum. She swears she didn't ask them to make me a prefect, but I still have the sneaking suspicion that they only made me a prefect because I'm a princess."

"Me, too," Rapunzel said. "I mean, I'm not even going to sleep in Ravenclaw Tower. Whoever picks the prefects must have done it because I was a princess."

"It could be because we were picked by the Guardians," Hiccup theorized.

"But then they would have picked me, not Derek," Jack pointed out.

"Ah, who cares?" Merida said, putting her hand on Jack's shoulder. "You didn't even want to be a prefect."

"Yeah, well, I didn't want him to be a prefect either."

"Who would you have wanted then?" Rapunzel asked. "I didn't think you liked any of the other Slytherins in your year."

"It's true that they all rally behind Derek. But he's the ringleader. He was the first to pronounce me dead to them when I came out as a muggleborn. The others might have been thinking it, but Derek was the only one to say anything. He convinced the others. I guess I would have picked Thomas. He's quieter. A real follower. Or maybe Hugo. He follows Derek, too, but I've seen him glance my way. I always wondered if maybe, just maybe, he follows Derek out of fear, rather than loyalty. Wishful thinking I suppose, but I have a lot of time for daydreams in detention."

"Isn't there another Slytherin boy in your year?" Hiccup said, scratching his head.

"Yeah, Barnabas Crabbe. I wouldn't want him as my prefect. He's not as smart as Derek, but he's more cruel."

"Cruel?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Yeah. He has a little sister, she got sorted into Ravenclaw last year. I saw him pulling her by her hair, calling her a blood traitor."

"What?" his friends asked.

"I'll kill 'im," Merida said, rolling up her sleeves.

"Not necessary." Jack added, "I made some ice for him to slip on. He fell down flat on his face thanks to me. No need for any of you to share that with him, mind you. I get the feeling he wouldn't mind making my leg look like Hiccup's."

Rapunzel and Merida stared at Jack. But Hiccup smiled and gave a broken chuckle.

"Ha, well, if that ever happens, come see Gobber. He can fix you up with a metal leg."

"He's your blacksmith, right?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yep, blacksmith, teacher, dragon dentist-"

"Dragon dentist?" Merida questioned.

"Uh … did I say that? I meant regular doctor. Who fixes injuries caused by dragon's... teeth," Hiccup squeaked out. Jack raised his eyebrow, but didn't press Hiccup. Soon enough, the strangeness was forgotten as the group split up for the journey home.

* * *

Hiccup practically ran away from Diagon Alley. He thought lying to everyone on Berk was challenging, but lying to his friends was much worse. On Berk, no one really cared about what Hiccup had to say. Even when he started winning in the ring, the others only wanted to talk about strength, or what if felt like to defeat the dragon.

Hiccup made sure he was far into the woods, away from London, before he called out.

"Toothless! Here, Bud."

For a moment, there was silence, but then the bushes rustled, and the jet black dragon jumped out. Toothless wagged his tail as he bounded around Hiccup.

"Ready to go home?" Hiccup asked. Toothless jumped around, holding still only so Hiccup could mount him. Hiccup climbed on, locking his leg into the footpad. In seconds they were up, flying through the air. Hiccup and Toothless flew up as high as possible, until the air started to feel thin. Hiccup didn't want anyone to see them.

Together they zoomed home. Toothless was a lot faster than a Viking long ship, but Berk was still several hours away. As they flew, Hiccup wondered if Jack felt like this when he was up on his broom. Which of them was faster?

Toothless could outrace any dragon on Berk, that was for sure, but would he be able to beat Jack Frost in a race? Hiccup sighed. It was too bad he couldn't outright challenge Jack. A race would be fun.

As Hiccup neared Berk, he started to shiver. It was shaping up to be a terribly cold winter, even for Berk. The destruction of the dragon nest might have something to do with it. Without the Red Death spitting out fire, the air was even colder. And the Vikings didn't have furs anymore, due to Hookfang, Snotlout's dragon, accidentally setting them all on fire. The Vikings had to make do with leather until they could replenish their fur supplies.

Well, at least the newly moved-in dragons could help warm up the place and keep the fires burning.

Hiccup and Toothless landed in the town square three hours after they left Diagon Alley. His father immediately came up to him.

"Hiccup! We have a dragon problem!" Stoick said. Hiccup swung his leg over the saddle and dismounted.

"Can't you deal with Mildew this time?"

"It's not that. Bucket and Mulch can't get the chickens to produce any eggs, or the yaks to produce any milk, or the sheep to produce wool, the animals are scared of the dragons."

"Wait, how could the sheep stop producing wool?"

"I don't know, just fix it," Stoick bellowed. Hiccup sighed and went to work, part of him missing the days when nobody even noticed him.

* * *

Merida packed up her trunk. She almost hesitated on her bow. She was starting to look like a real lady now. She supposed she ought to act like one. The weekly teas with Rapunzel had done a great deal to improve her manners. She hardly ever fought with her mum anymore.

Finally though, Merida did pack her bow and arrows. It wasn't like Hogwarts was danger free or anything. She might need the protection.

She was about to close her trunk when she heard a crash from the first floor of the castle. Merida ran down the stairs to check out what was happening.

In the main hall, King Fergus had his sword drawn. Standing across from him was a wizard Merida had never seen before. The wizard had his wand drawn. The guards lined the hall's walls, their spears ready, but clearly they were afraid of the wizard.

"What's going on here?" Queen Elinor demanded, coming in from the kitchens.

"I've come to rescue the princess!" the wizard said.

"This nutjob blasted the doors right off the hinges," King Fergus said.

The wizard twirled his wand. Merida, remembering how Jack handled his muggle aggressors, stepped between her father and the wizard. Her mother followed her.

"I'm not in need of rescuing," Merida insisted. Behind her, she could hear her mother talking her father down. Good. She could focus on the crazy wizard.

The wizard wasn't too old. In fact, he was probably only a few years older than she was. Maybe 17. He had red hair and long sideburns with friendly green eyes. Merida wouldn't admit it, but he could give Jack Frost a run for his money on dreaminess.

"But … I've heard the rumors," he said, "that a bear was keeping you imprisoned here. I came to slay the beast and free you."

Merida rolled her eyes, just what she needed, more rumors. "Ugh … I'm never gonna live that down, am I? Okay, look, there was a bear in the castle, but it was my fault. I accidentally gave me mum a potion that turned her into a bear. But I've reversed it. Everything is back to normal. No need of rescue or anything. Thanks for trying, and now you can get out of my castle."

"Oh," the boy looked down sadly. He then looked up with a sad smile, "Well … is there anything that I _can_ help you with?"

"No," Merida said flatly. "I'm not even stuck here. I head to Hogwarts in a few days. I've got the princess thing down, the magic thing down. I don't need your help at all."

The boy sighed, but seeing that he would make no progress, turned and left.

"Well done, lass," King Fergus said.

"Indeed," Queen Elinor added. "You've grown into a proper young lady. In fact … I don't believe you require any more princess lessons."

"Really?" Merida asked, her hope rising. Queen Elinor nodded, "The way I witnessed you handling that challenge, the way you've handled all the challenges over the summer, and the reports from our allies about how you handled their sons and the conflicts at school, well, I think you can handle yourself diplomatically now."

"Oh, thanks mum," Merida said, hugging her mother.

"Of course," Queen Elinor said stroking Merida's hair, "just because I'm not watching is no excuse to slack off."

"Yes, mum," Merida said.

"Remember, you are still a princess."

"Yes, mum."

"Peace within our kingdom still depends on you."

"Yes, mum," Merida sighed. Maybe her mother hadn't changed so much. Still, Merida was very excited about no lessons. Hopefully, that would mean she would get a lot more free time. With that thought in mind, she ran, no, _walked_ quickly, up to her room and finished packing.


	4. Changing Roles and the New Announcement

Jack sat alone in his cabin on the train. He'd flown to the train station alone. Emma wanted to come with him and his mother said she would go, but after seeing the guards at Diagon Alley, he decided not to bring them into his world. He didn't want them to get hurt. He found Merida and Rapunzel fairly quickly, but since they were prefects, they had to go in the prefects' car.

His friends promised they'd join him soon but Jack had no clue how long their meeting would last. Jack pulled his knees up to his chest as he looked out the window at the rolling landscape. He hated being alone.

Suddenly a knock came on the cabin door. Jack looked up as a first year girl stepped in.

"Can I join you? Everywhere else is full," the girl said. Jack nodded and the girl sat down.

She pulled out a book. Jack noted that it was muggle book, _Death by Dragon, Monsters and Wizards. What's Beyond Life for the Righteous?_

"Thanks for letting me in," the girl said. "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find a seat."

"No prob. First years always have trouble," Jack said, feeling like he'd heard that somewhere before.

"Why?" the girl asked.

"Lack of friends, I guess. Unless you come from a wizard family, most first years don't know anyone. But don't worry. By the return trip, you'll have lots of friends."

"Are there a lot of wizard families?" the girl asked, perching on the edge of her seat.

"Depends on your definition," Jack said. "If you count only the purebloods, then no. If you include the half-bloods … then, yeah, there's a lot. Probably two thirds, then one third muggleborns. I take it you're a muggleborn?"

"No. But I am an orphan," the girl said. "I live in a muggle orphanage. I used to live with my grandfather ... he died three years ago. He told me about our family ... but he didn't like to mingle with other wizards, even though we lived in Godric's Hollow. I think one of the others stole something from him once. After he died, everyone I knew was gone. Since we weren't on speaking terms with the other wizards, the muggles took me to their orphanage."

The girl fingered her book, her hand circling the word 'death'.

"Oh," Jack said. Her story sounded a lot like Flynn's. Jack wondered if Flynn had a mentor when he started. "Well, if you need any help ... any advice, any tips to get the sorting hat to tell you what house you'll be in-"

"I already know what house I'll be in," the girl said blankly. "Everyone in my family is in Slytherin. "

"Cool, me too," Jack said. Then he thought back to how much of a pariah he was. "Actually, you might not want to be seen around me. I'm not particularly popular in Slytherin house."

Just as he said that, a knock came upon the cabin door. A fourth year Slytherin girl stepped in.

"Can I sit with you?" she asked, smiling shyly.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked. She nodded and sat right next to Jack, touching his arm.

"Oh, uh, Priscilla, this is -"

"Iolanthe," the first year introduced herself. "Iolanthe Peverell."

The little girl went to shake hands with Priscilla, but Priscilla was too busy staring at Jack to pay her any attention. And it wasn't a negative stare, either. It reminded him of the way all the girls in his village had started to look at him … that couldn't be good.

Over the course of the train ride, other girls migrated to Jack's cabin. He wasn't about to dismiss them. He loved being popular. This was the life for him!

* * *

Merida scowled as she rested her head on her fist. Just when she got rid of the long lectures from her mum, she had to listen to the lectures from the seventeen-year-old head boy and girl. Not that they thought of it as lectures. As far as they were concerned, they were simply instructing the newbies. But Merida was used to this kind of instruction and found it tedious. Rapunzel on the other hand sat at attention, noting every word. To Merida's utter shock, Hiccup wasn't paying attention. At all. Instead, he kept glancing up, out the window.

It wasn't the only odd behavior coming from him. He'd been late to the meeting. She and Rapunzel almost missed the train trying to wait for him. Finally, ten minutes after the train started going, Hiccup popped up right beside them, acting like he'd been there the whole time. She supposed he was just hiding from questions about his missing leg.

Finally, the head boy and girl dismissed them to patrol the train.

Hiccup quickly took off towards the engine, leaving Rapunzel and Merida to wander the populated train cars. Rapunzel stopped to break up a pair of first year siblings who were fighting over the snacks their mother packed for them, leaving Merida to patrol on her own.

As Merida marched up and down the cars, she noticed an unusual number of students, mostly girls, running back and forth. Merida hadn't been paying much attention to the corridor before, but this seemed suspicious.

Merida followed some of the girls to a cabin at the end of the train. The closer to the end they got, the thicker the crowd got. Merida overheard some of their comments.

"Are you sure it's him?"

"But I heard he was so cold-"

"No, he's definitely hot-"

"My dad would kill me if I kissed a mudblood. But that just makes it more tempting."

As Merida neared the offending cabin, she started to get a feel for what was going on. Sure enough, when she opened the cabin door, she found Jack Frost, surrounded by girls.

"Alright, break it up," Merida commanded.

"Hey! They lined up like that all on their own," Jack said, as many of the girls retreated to their own cabins. "You can't make them leave just 'cause you're jealous."

Merida scowled, "Yeah right, I am not. It's a … uh, fire hazard … to have that many people in one cabin."

"Fire? me?" Jack said, twisting his staff around, making some of the girls giggle. "Come on, Princess. Everyone knows that's more your style."

Merida's face flushed, "Well ... You need to save a place for Rapunzel and Hiccup. I'm sure once they finish patrolling they'll come back here."

Merida glanced down the corridor and spotted Rapunzel. As Rapunzel pushed her way through the crowd, the other girls started to dissipate. At least they respected the prefect's power, even if Jack didn't.

"Done with my section of the train," Rapunzel said. "Where's Hiccup?"

* * *

Hiccup looked to his left and right. He saw no one. This was his chance. Hiccup reached up and opened the skylight, pulling himself on top of the train. Toothless immediately licked his face.

"I know, I missed you, too," Hiccup said, mounting his dragon. They'd only been apart for the length of the meeting, of course. Hiccup flew Toothless to London and landed him on top of the moving Hogwarts Express.

He didn't know if there was another way to bring Toothless to school. He still reeked at practical transfiguration, and Toothless couldn't fly on his own, and there was no way he was going to let his dad fly Toothless. They'd already gone through a bit of that at home, which ended with his dad getting a thunderdrum that would be used to keep the wild dragons at bay.

Hiccup shuddered to think what Berk would look like when he got back.

The boy guided Toothless along the top of the train. Every time they passed a skylight, he would check in to see if the students were behaving. Satisfied that he didn't need to drop in and police anyone, Hiccup found his friends. He found a skylight near their cabin and dropped in just as they were getting settled. Metal clanked above. Toothless walking on the roof, no doubt, but his friends didn't notice the noise.

"Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked. "Where have you been?"

"Oh .. uh patrolling," Hiccup said. Technically it was true, just not inside. "Just … trying to make a good impression."

His friends stared at him, but let it go. Hiccup sat down with them in the cabin. Jack introduced him to a first year girl. The girl briefly said hi, then went back to her book, ignoring the four teenagers. He squirmed every time the roof clanged, but his friends didn't notice as they chattered on about their summers.

"It's so great to be popular," Jack Frost said as he leaned back putting his hands behind his head. Hiccup chuckled nervously. He could tell them a thing or two about being popular. Since killing the Red Death, he was Berk's most famous Viking, in a good way for once.

On the roof overhead there arose such a clatter that Hiccup sprang from his seat to see what was the matter.

"Um … excuse me... I should … probably check that out," Hiccup said with a stammer.

"Sit down," Merida commanded, grabbing his arm. Hiccup couldn't think of a good excuse, so he complied with her order.

Hiccup sighed with relief as the Hogwarts Express finally pulled into Hogsmeade Station. Before the others could stop him, he was up and off the train, taking Toothless into the forest, away from prying eyes. The other prefects could handle guiding the first and second years. He was on a mission.

* * *

Rapunzel took her normal seat with the Ravenclaws. She kept scanning the room for Hiccup. He'd disappeared shortly before they got out. It was bizarre. But somehow, he made it back to the Great Hall before the sorting began, though he kept looking around. Rapunzel clapped whenever a new student joined her table.

Finally, it came time for Headmaster Ombric's Start of Term Announcements.

"Professor Manny Lunoff has retired," Ombric started, introducing the new professor. Ombric didn't say that Manny was really the Man in the Moon, or that he'd left to go back to live on the moon, watching for Pitch Black. But Rapunzel and her friends were allowed to know the truth now that they were honorary Guardians.

Rapunzel looked up at the ceiling. The night sky shown above the floating candles. So many nights in her tower she'd stared out the window, charting the stars. She knew them all now. All the constellations and the stars. But none of that could compare to the beauty of the floating lanterns.

Despite a whole summer of pleading, Rapunzel was nowhere close to getting Mother to take her to see the Floating Lights. But maybe, just maybe, if she was good all year, this would be the year. After all, next summer she was turning sixteen. Wasn't that supposed to be the magical age? Maybe Mother would take her then. She would just have to be really good.

The announcements continued. After a few safety reminders, like warning the students to avoid the dark forest, not to sneak out in the middle of the night, and to beware strange shadows, he turned to a more unusual announcement.

"Now, some of you may have noticed a certain … tension … building in our world." Was it Rapunzel's imagination, or did his eyes linger on Jack? "Anyway, after a long discussion, we have decided that in this time of fear we must stand united. And so, I am please to inform you, that this year Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament!"

There was an excited murmuring of voices. Rapunzel didn't know what a Triwizard Tournament was but it sounded exciting. Apparently, she wasn't the only one confused, because Ombric kept explaining.

"We will be inviting our friends from two other wizarding schools, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. One student from each school will then be selected to represent that school in the competition. To the winner of the competition, eternal fame and glory, along with a cash prize, of course."

Instantly, Rapunzel's friends started talking amongst themselves. Some of them were already convinced that they would be the next champion. Rapunzel shrank back. She had no intention of entering the contest. She didn't need fame or glory. If she wanted that, all she'd have to do was let down her hair.

She didn't need the cash, either. The only thing the contest could possibly grant her was proving herself to Mother. But that could never happen. She was too weak and fragile, as Mother often said. Even if she managed to get picked for the competition, she would just screw everything up.

As Ombric kept talking about the kinds of dangers that the champion must face, Rapunzel knew she would never be the Hogwarts champion. She was perfectly fine with that.

* * *

If Jack wasn't so shocked that the two Slytherin girls in his year had chosen to sit next to him, he might have been more worried about the visitors from Durmstrang. Ever since Camicazi left Hogwarts, he'd been trying to pay attention to news about the Eastern school, and what he heard wasn't good.

Camicazi herself, in one of her letters, told him that she was leading a hunt to drive elves from the forest near her school. He didn't tell her he was half elf. He didn't know if he could take her rejection.

Jack glanced at the other Slytherins. A few of the girls clung to his side. All the boys were glaring at him. They all knew he was an ice elf. If Camicazi came, she was bound to hear about it. Jack heaved a sigh. Looking past his table, he could see Merida boasting to her friends. No doubt she wanted to be the champion, too. Rapunzel shyly stroked her hair. Hiccup. Hiccup looked nervous. No wonder. Most his tribe went to Durmstrang.

That explained his weird behavior. His tribe must have known about the competition. He was probably worried about falling flat on his face. Jack didn't get to spend too much time with Hiccup's tribe the summer that they visited, but he got the impression that they didn't like Hiccup much. Poor kid.

The meal soon ended and Jack followed his house down to the Slytherin Dungeons. Fiona and Sara, the two Fifth year Slytherin girls, stayed close to him. Jack was a little nervous. In his past four years, being the center of attention in Slytherin house was rarely a good thing. While Sara and Fiona hadn't gone out of their way to bully him like the boys in his year, they also hadn't stuck up for him. And they did participate when the others were throwing his old shoes around. Part of that mob mentality, Jack supposed.

"Are you going to put your name in the cup?" Fiona asked.

"What cup?" Jack asked as they stepped through the door.

"Weren't you listening?" Sara asked. "Ombric said the students who want to be the Hogwarts champion have to put their name in the Goblet of Fire."

"Oh. Guess I spaced out," Jack said.

"If you think a mudblood could ever be our champion, you're daft," Derek said, butting into their conversation. Jack might have said something, but Fiona beat him to it.

"No one asked you," she said with such coldness that Jack wondered if his ice magic was rubbing off.

"Sassy, aren't you?" Derek scoffed. "I'd say you earned a detention."

"You can't give a detention to another prefect," Sara said snidely. Derek scowled.

"Maybe not, but I can give it to him," Derek said, pointing to Jack.

"For what?" Fiona demanded.

"Endangering us all by being an elf. Ruining the reputation of Salazar Slytherin by being a mudblood."

"You're lucky that you're a prefect or I'd take points from you for saying that," Fiona said defensively. "Now run along, or I'll tell Professor Pitchiner about your behavior. And while I can't give a prefect a detention or take points, she can."

Derek glared at Jack, like it was his fault, and skulked away. Finally, Jack broke the silence.

"You don't care that I'm muggleborn?" Jack asked.

"Are you, though?" Sara asked. "I mean, how can you be an elf and a mudblood?"

"Yeah," Fiona added, "mudbloods have only muggle relatives, but if you're an elf ... ?"

"My dad was an ice elf. But I didn't think anyone liked them, either," Jack confessed, still a little bewildered that the girls were not only talking to him, but defending him from Derek.

"Who cares?" Sara said. "I mean, it's not like you look like a house elf or anything."

"You aren't afraid that I'll freeze you or anything?" Jack tried.

"I like snow. Especially those cool ice pictures you drew on the castle last year," Fiona said. "Besides, it's fun to do what my parents would forbid. I like being a rebel."

She whispered the last word in his ear. Jack pulled away a little. He was relieved when he noticed Professor Emily Jane glaring at him across the room.

"A word Jack?" she said.

Quickly detaching himself from the girls, he went into the professor's office.

She closed the door.

"Am I in trouble?" Jack asked, trying to think of what he might have done. He hadn't pulled a prank since he left home, almost twelve whole hours ago.

"No," she said, "but considering your powers, and your relationship with the other students in this house, I wanted to make sure you were okay, especially now that your roommate is a prefect."

"If I could handle myself when your dad was the Head of House, I can handle Derek as a prefect. Though I have to ask, why did you pick him?"

"First off, Ombric picked him, not I. As Head of House, I only recommend students to the headmaster. As for why I recommended Derek, it all comes down to family. His father wrote me, and I assume Ombric as well, demanding that his son become a prefect or he would cease making donations to Hogwarts."

"So he bought it," Jack said. He wasn't sure if he should feel angry or relieved that the professor wasn't playing favorites.

"You should be grateful for it," Emily Jane said. "It is donations like his that go into the Hogwarts fund for pauper students. You use that, do you not?"

Jack nodded, hating being poor. If his stepfather hadn't abandoned them … but no. He shouldn't think bad things about the past like that. He was here now. He should be grateful for what he had.

"Anyway. Even though Derek is a prefect, I do not want him abusing his position, especially around you."

"So … you'll undo any punishment he gives me?"

Emily Jane leaned back in her chair, "And give you the power to openly defy house rules with no fear of punishment? No. But I will undo any unjust punishment he gives you. Like what almost happened. I was watching. I am always watching. If I see him giving you a punishment when you've done nothing, I will undo it. But if you have done something, I will not intervene, even if his choice of punishment seems harsh for your offense."

"Why not?" Jack asked.

"Hmm, let's see, why shouldn't I let the school's biggest troublemaker openly defy an authority figure?"

"Point taken," Jack said.

"Jack, I just want to be fair. To be neutral. You and Derek will have to find your own solution to your problems, all I am trying to do is level the playing field a little. Go out and settle in. And send Derek in here, too. I need to issue him a similar warning."

Jack left the office and sent Derek in. Again, the girls of all ages were looking. Jack felt a little uncomfortable. He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "Wanna play a game?"

A bunch of girls nodded. Jack focused on a little girl, the first year he'd met on the train. Iolanthe. She was smiling up at him. He tried to imagine her as his sister.

He drew his hand back, summoning a snowball. He blew on it, infusing it with the cheering charm before hurling it into the crowd. Soon everyone was laughing and playing in the snow that Jack made and all the awkwardness was gone.

* * *

Merida looked out of her dorm room. It was after midnight, but she was wide awake. Instead of getting settled in like everyone else, she had to stop some kids from fighting. Who knew being a prefect would come with so many responsibilities? She was starting to wonder which was harder, being a princess or being a prefect?

As Merida looked at the sky, a strange purple light flashed from the forest. As Merida looked down at the forest, she thought she saw a lone figure running into the woods. That was … odd. Who would be running into the forest?

Merida bit her lip. She should tell someone. What if that was Pitch Black's accomplice? The person who let the Monkey King into the school last year?

Merida looked at the figure again. Was it just her imagination, or did his gangling walk look a little familiar. She found she couldn't turn away. She kept watching. About a half-hour later, the figure came out of the forest. This time, Merida was paying attention. Another flash of light came out of the forest. Merida got a good look at the figure. This time, there was no mistaking the unusual gait that could only be caused by a peg leg. And there was only one person at Hogwarts with a peg leg. It must be Hiccup.


	5. The Curious Doings of Hiccup

Hiccup scarfed down his food. Maybe, if he finished fast enough, he would have time to check on Toothless before History of Magic.

As soon as he could, he excused himself from the table and ran down to the forest. Could it be only yesterday that he and Toothless were soaring above the ocean as they made their way to England?

Hiccup had already scoured his schedule. It was pretty packed this year, what with preparations for the O.W.L.s, but he was glad to see that most of Friday was free.

As soon as Hiccup had gone a few feet into the woods, he whistled. Toothless bounded up to him, knocking him on the ground.

"Glad to see you, too," Hiccup said as he stroked the dragon. He'd had to slip out last night to remove Toothless's saddle, but he didn't stay out too long. He didn't want to get in trouble for being out of bed. Adults here were much more alert than on Berk, although that wasn't saying much.

Toothless gave a mournful roar, rolling over on his side. He was probably hungry. Hiccup pulled out his wand and cast the summoning spell. It didn't take too long for a fish to appear. Then two. Then three. Then four. Hiccup smiled at his wand proudly. He was getting much better at this magic stuff since he'd caught Toothless. He still wasn't as fast or strong as the other Vikings in his tribe, but at least now he had a chance to catch up.

As Toothless ate the fish, Hiccup sighed. Gobber's idea was working. Hiccup knew there was a lake at school, of course. Toothless could always go hunting for fish on his own time. But it was much more convenient to simply summon the food for Toothless. Less chance of the dragon being spotted.

A clock chimed in the school. Hiccup waved goodbye to Toothless as he ran back up to the building, making it just in time for the history lesson.

He took his seat next to Merida as the lesson started.

The minute Professor Tooth turned her back, Merida leaned over and whispered, "You smell like the woods."

For a minute, Hiccup stammered, trying to protest. Luckily, he was saved from having to come up with an excuse as Tooth turned back towards them, reviewing everything they'd forgotten over the summer. Merida gave him a hard look. Clearly this conversation wasn't over.

Hiccup tapped his metal foot anxiously as Tooth continued the lecture. Hmmm. Tooth, and Toothless. Did the Tooth Fairy collect dragon teeth? Did she know what happened on Berk over the summer? Did any of the Guardians? If they were really all-seeing beings who could tell when you were naughty or nice... But no, that was ridiculous. If the Guardians could really see all, they would have caught Pitch Black long ago.

When Tooth finally ended class, Hiccup popped out of his seat and ran out to the hall before Merida could react. He didn't stop running until he reached the Transfiguration classroom.

Despite his missing leg, he made it to class before any of the other students. As Hiccup took his seat, Professor Bunnymund came in.

"So, it's true," Bunny said as he started setting up. Hiccup's brow creased. Did he know about Toothless? The Easter Bunny must have seen his confusion, because he clarified, "'Bout yer leg."

"Oh … yeah," Hiccup said, glancing down at it. "I keep forgetting that most people outside the Archipelago don't lose limbs that frequently."

"There's a rumor in the Guardian world about how you lost it, you know," Bunny said.

"Really," Hiccup said, shrinking in his chair.

"Aye, but don't nelly yer nickers. We won't be spillin' anything. Dragons are your business, not ours."

Hiccup smiled gratefully as the other students filed in. Some of them gave him odd looks. This was the first close up most of the Slytherins had of his leg.

Bunny started the lecture on the formula for cross species switches. Hiccup normally loved the formula side of Transfiguration. All math, no magic. But today he couldn't help but be distracted by his scaly friend. As soon as class ended, Jack turned to Hiccup.

"So, you thinking about being a champion?" Jack asked.

The tournament had totally slipped Hiccup's mind. In just a few weeks, the other Vikings would be making the journey to Hogwarts. Hiccup thought about being the champion. While it would be nice to win and everything, he had bigger things to worry about. Besides, without Toothless, he'd likely fall flat on his face, and because of his dad's stupid rule he couldn't let Toothless help. He hoped the other dragon riders didn't let the cat out of the bag if they were chosen.

"I guess I might enter," Hiccup finally said, "especially if the rest of the Drago- I mean, the rest of my tribe enters. If I chicken out, they'll never let me live it down."

"Well, hey," Jack said, "at least you won't have to worry about your hair changing color. I'm gonna need more hair dye before Camicazi gets here, if she's coming. I wonder what she'll think when she sees I don't wear shoes anymore. At least you've only got one foot to worry about."

Hiccup chuckled at Jack's attempt to make light of the situation. He wondered if his dad would ever let him tell his friends about Toothless.

* * *

Jack was glad he could still make Hiccup laugh, even if the Viking boy seemed a lot more distant now. It was nice to think some things never change. Jack wasn't sure what was going on with his classmates. Was it just teenage hormones? Just stupid kids letting Jack's looks override the prejudice they felt about his status. Or maybe it was the Guardian's doing. The Guardians had stepped up their protection, keeping the bad dreams out. Jack hadn't had a nightmare in months. Maybe the only reason they were so mean to him before was a combination of childish cruelty and bad influence from the former professor.

After only one year of having Mother Nature as his head of house, things were looking up. First, she stopped Derek from thinking he could get away with just about anything. He still hated Jack, but he no longer acted on impulses. Consequently, Jack was a bit more relaxed, and that must have made everyone else see him as less of a threat. Without Pitch to push the prejudice, Jack got a jump in popularity.

Jack knew he was handsome, too. That probably helped. Ice elves were known for their inhuman beauty, like most nature elves. Jack, being half elf, was probably only half as beautiful as they were. Not that he could really tell, considering the only ice elf he'd met was his father, and even that was only once. Part of Jack wished he knew more about the elves. For so long he'd had questions about his dad. He thought his mother's husband John was his father. But it was all a lie. When Jack tracked down his real father two years ago, he found out the ice elf wanted nothing to do with him. At the time, Jack hadn't wanted a thing to do with the man either, but now he wished he'd asked more questions.

Even if that elf in particular didn't care about him ... what about others? What was the usual life span for an elf? Where did they live? His hair turned white when he was 14. Would there be other changes? A girl behind Jack giggled. Maybe his looks were one of those powers, too. People were always saying big changes happened at 16. Jack would be 16 in a few months. Maybe that was why the girls liked him more now.

The lecture ended and before Jack could stop him, Hiccup was up and out of his seat. Jack headed down to lunch, but he never saw Hiccup enter the Great Hall. Where was he?

* * *

After lunch, Rapunzel made her way up to the clubroom. Jack was already there moving chairs. She quickly summoned the wall coverings she painted in their first year and started to hang them. As she hung the posters of Berk and the Forest of DunBroch she frowned.

Her painting skills were still improving, but already she could see flaws in the drawings. Hiccup's village was much closer to the water than where she drew it. And the trees in Merida's forest were much taller. Maybe if she had some free time, she could fix the errors. She turned to put up Jack's poster. Rather than depicting his landscape, it showed the frost powers of his own design.

"Jack, I've been curious. The rest of us chose to bring a little bit of home. While I love your painting, I always wondered why you didn't."

"You've seen one forest, you've seen them all. I didn't need to add one representing me. The only thing different about my forest from these is the lake, and it just wouldn't be the same without all the children skating on it."

"We could have drawn the children," Rapunzel said laughing.

"Nah. You don't know what they look like. And I can't draw humans."

"Maybe I could show you sometime," Rapunzel offered. Before Jack could answer, the door flew open and Merida stomped in.

Rapunzel backed away from Jack, "I thought you had class?"

"We should have," Merida said. "Divination. But Professor Vigor never showed up."

"What?" Jack and Rapunzel exclaimed. When Rapunzel recovered from her shock she said, "But we had class with him just this morning."

"Well, maybe he ate something bad at lunch or something," Merida said, "because he didn't bother showing up for our class. Where's Hiccup?"

Jack and Rapunzel glanced at each other, "We thought he was in class with you."

"He isn't taking Divination. I thought he'd be here."

"Maybe it's too hard for him to climb the stairs?" Rapunzel offered.

"Yeah. He seemed really embarrassed about his leg," Jack put in. "I've thought about offering to give him the invisibility cloak so he doesn't have to be seen moving around, but having him randomly appear and disappear might cause more issues than it fixes."

"There's something strange going on with that one, and it has nothing to do with his leg."

"How can you be sure?" Rapunzel asked.

"My dad lost his leg. Granted I was a kid at the time, but I remember how the process went. First there was lying in bed feeling sorry for himself. Then the rehabilitation as he learned to walk on the leg. And finally, he decided that he had to get revenge on Mor'du. There was no hiding from awkward questions, or sneaking into the forest in the middle of the night."

"Sneaking into the forest? But Pitch Black's horses could be in there!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, I saw him," Merida said smugly.

"Did you ask him?" Rapunzel asked.

"Nah. I didn't get the chance. Besides, if he's sneakin' around in the middle of the night, he probably won't tell me. I wonder what's such a big secret that he won't share with his friends?"

"Maybe he's trying to bulk up for the Triwizard Tournament? You know, train in secret and surprise us all?" Jack said. "Not that he'd have a chance against me."

"Are you going to enter?" Rapunzel asked.

"'Course. Eternal fame, glory, and cash? What more could I want," Jack replied, "'cept being a kid forever and not being the odd one out all the time."

"Yeah, well yer gonna have some competition there, bud," Merida said. "Mum may have gotten me to put my kingdom first, but nothing could squelch my competitive spirit. Whatever we have to do, I bet I can do it, me and my bow. Are you going to enter Rapunzel?"

"No, no. Mother would kill me if I even thought about it," Rapunzel said. "I wonder if that's what Hiccup's really doing, though."

"Well, I know one way to find out," Merida said, glancing out the window. Then she turned to Jack with a grin that said 'I'm up to something.'

* * *

Hiccup braced himself on Toothless's back. Together, the two soared above the Black Forest, flying away from Hogwarts. Hiccup wasn't used to having to hide Toothless in such a populated area. On Berk, most Vikings stayed close to the village. There was no danger of being seen flying in Unlandable Cove or the Cliffs of Insanity. No people would be there. After all, Viking names were almost always literal. Even the name Hiccup. Though his father said it was to scare away gnomes and trolls, he knew it was Viking tradition to name the runt of a litter Hiccup.

Rather cruel, when he thought about it. He supposed his parents didn't expect him to live long enough to know that was what the name meant. Most runts died in childhood after all, assuming they weren't cast out upon birth as tradition dictated. And Hiccup was terrible at living life in the traditional Viking sense. But, thanks to a little influence from Merida, and a lot of influence from Toothless, he managed to break the tradition. Now, hardly anyone thought he would die in a freak accident. And with Toothless, he was nearly unstoppable.

Toothless put on a burst of speed, taking Hiccup away from the school. Boy and dragon moved as one through the clouds. He saw no sign of other flyers. Neither wizards nor witches on brooms, nor any nightmare creatures.

Hiccup looked down at the forest. Something glittered and caught his eye.

"There, Toothless, dive!" Hiccup commanded, leaning down and adjusting the foot pedal so Toothless would be able to.

Together, they plunged into the forest, swiftly sailing through the trees until they found what Hiccup saw from above. There, in the center of the forest, was a glistening river.

Hiccup dismounted Toothless and walked to the water. He could see fish swimming under the surface.

"Toothless, Plasma Blast," Hiccup commanded. Toothless shot his fire into the water and a dozen fish shot out, landing on the banks. Toothless immediately went to eat them. Hiccup wouldn't have to worry about summoning food again.

While Toothless was eating, Hiccup started walking downstream. In about 30 yards, he found a giant outcropping of stone. Perfect. Toothless could sleep without setting the forest on fire.

Hiccup whistled and Toothless came running. He regurgitated the last fish at Hiccup's feet before settling down on the stone.

"I think we found your home, buddy," Hiccup said with a smile.

* * *

Pitch Black stared up at the school. He was so close. Around the castle, a thin stream of dreamsand floated against the night sky. One of the attempts to make the Triwizard Tournament safer. Not that it would work. The competition was doomed by its own nature. But the dreamsand did keep Pitch out. He might be able to project a shadow inside for short bits, but if he wanted a long conversation with anyone, he would have to lure them outside of Hogwarts, at least until he could find a way to distract the Sandman. Or until he could find a new accomplice. Preferably one who wasn't in Guardian jail, or angry with him. Maybe he should try the Viking world? Surely one of the Outcasts or Berserkers could be tricked into helping him. But for now, he would have to do his dirty work himself.

Pitch waited in the shadows of an inn as the lone figure came down the lane. The old woman paused as she reached the door.

"You're late," Pitch growled. The woman jumped and looked around as Pitch stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself.

"I don't normally do this, Professor," she said, "but I had to know. Are the rumors true? Were you behind the Fearlings?"

"Yes, Malika," Pitch said, baring his teeth. The woman backed into the door frame of the building. Pitch moved in closer. "And the Monkey King, he was mine. And like I told you in the note I sent, he can command any monkey, including your precious Vigor the Visionary."

Malika trembled. Pitch backed off. "But I suppose he won't have to bother with that now since you decided to accept my invitation. The Monkey King will release Vigor back to the school. Shall we?"

Pitch Black held the door open for Malika. The woman entered and ordered a room. Pitch shadow traveled to it. No sense in alerting one of the pub thugs to his presence.

Once in the room, Pitch used his magic to shroud the room in darkness. No outsiders would see in.

"Well? What do you want of me?" Malika asked. "I don't know anything about the Triwizard Tournament, and I'm not about to help you sabotage it."

"Believe me, Professor. I have no intention of intervening in the competition. Let them have their fun. The world will be mine soon enough, anyway. What I want from you is a prophecy."

"Vigor is the Visionary, not me."

"Ah, but I don't need a new one. I'm talking about an old one. Years ago, I heard part of a prophecy issued by Vigor. At the time, I didn't think it was relevant. But recent events suggest that it may actually have to do with a certain student. I want to hear the whole thing."

"Vigor has issued many prophecies in the past. I would not know which one you mean."

"Very well. Then tell them all to me, and let me decide."

"All? But that would take forever! I won't do it. I won't help you."

Malika got up and headed to the door, but Pitch opened a portal into his lair and pulled the two of them down into his shadowy domain.

"Well, it seems like you have all eternity."


	6. Merida'a Discovery

Jack walked through a deserted corridor. Most students were in class. The rest of the Slytherin fifth years were in Care of Magical Creatures. He wasn't sure where to go. He could go sit in the club room, but it would be empty. Merida was in Care of Magical Creatures and Hiccup and Rapunzel would have Herbology. He supposed he could go back to the Slytherin dungeon. Derek wouldn't be there to bother him and the other kids didn't shut him out anymore. But some of the girls did act very strange around him. While Jack did love attention, it was just a little too weird for him to be completely comfortable with them.

Finally, Jack decided to go outside. Nothing like enjoying summer. After all, in just one short week it would be fall and then a week after that the other schools would be here.

Jack waved his staff and flew down the stairs and out the building into the clear afternoon sky. He went straight to the lake and walked out onto the water, freezing it with each step.

A few other students who didn't have class walked over to the lake as Jack ran his staff over it, creating frost across the ice.

A first year tapped the ice with her shoe. It was the same girl he'd sat with on the train, Iolanthe, "Is it safe?"

Jack smiled, "Long as I'm here to freeze it!"

Timidly, the girl walked out onto the ice. Jack started running over the lake, further solidifying it. He wasn't paying much attention, and accidentally bumped his staff on the ice, sending frost spiraling directly under the girl. She slipped and fell flat on her face. Before the girl could react to her fall, Jack waved his wand and cast the cheering charm. A lone snowflake flew out, landing on the girl's nose. She started to laugh.

Soon, some of the children seeking to avoid the late summer heat ventured out onto the ice. Jack made a bit of snow. In no time at all, the lake was filled with children playing, sliding, and throwing snowballs.

Jack hurled his snowballs as fast as he could make them, trying to seek out every student who dared to be on his ice. As he scanned the ice for more victims, he spotted the same first year leaving the ice heading into the woods.

"Hey!" Jack called, but the girl kept walking deeper into the woods.

Jack dropped his snowball, tapped the ice once more to make sure it held, and ran into the forest after the child.

"Hey, stop!" Jack shouted again as the sun disappeared behind the trees. The girl kept walking as if in a trance. Jack ran after her and grabbed her shoulder. The girl jumped. Jack let go.

"You shouldn't be here," Jack scolded. "The forest is really dangerous."

"I thought I saw something," the girl said. "A little blue light. It made the most wonderful sound. I hoped it was a magical creature. I've been dying to see them. My grandfather used to tell me all about fairies and thestrals, you know. But I don't remember what he called the blue ones."

"A wil 'o the wisp," Jack muttered, remembering what Merida said about them. Jack turned to the girl, "My friend says they lead you to your fate, but I don't think your fate is here in the forest."

Something black flashed by behind the girl. She didn't see it, but Jack did. He smiled at her, "Why don't you go back and help clear off the ice before it melts? You'll have seven years to learn about magical creatures."

She nodded and left. Jack held his staff tensely. He gingerly walked to where he'd seen the black flash. It wasn't one of Pitch's horses, was it?

Jack could still hear distant laughter from the the lake. If this was a monster, he'd have to stop it before it got a chance to attack the students. He would be their guardian.

Another flash of black darted past him. He charged after it, staff ready to blast the black sand away. When he finally got a good look at it, he saw it was not made of sand. It was covered with scales.

No doubt about it, Jack was standing face to face with a ferocious looking black dragon.

He waved his staff, blasting ice at the creature. The creature blasted the ice mid-air with a bright fire. Jack, realizing his ice had no effect, turned and fled.

By the time he reached the lake, most of the students had evacuated. The ice was starting to melt, becoming even more slippery. Jack didn't bother refreezing it. The sun was starting to set, hardly any students were out now, and those that were were making their way back to the castle. Jack glanced behind him. He didn't see the dragon. Jack quickly encouraged the stragglers to head back inside.

Satisfied that the grounds were safely cleared off, Jack gave a sigh of relief. The dragon hadn't followed him. Okay, the number of reasons not to go into the forest kept growing. Maybe the school should consider making it a forbidden forest. Jack was about to go back in the school, when he chanced to see one last student outside. Hiccup … and he was going into the forest. Jack quickly flew after him.

"Hey, stop!" Jack called. Hiccup stopped and looked up as Jack landed in front of him. "Don't go in there!"

"I … I think I left something during Care of Magical Creatures," Hiccup stammered. "I'll catch up with you later."

Hiccup tried to push past Jack, but Jack stood his ground, "No! I saw a dragon. A dragon, Hiccup. I swear I saw a dragon."

Hiccup looked down at his feet, "I'm sure it was just your imagination."

"No! It was black as night and it breathed fire. My ice did nothing."

"You used your ice?" Hiccup asked, sounding a little outraged. Quickly he shook his head, "Look, my tribe … we've got dragons. You know that. I can handle myself against a dragon."

"Hiccup, last time you took one on, you lost a leg."

"And that is the kind of mistake I won't make again!" Hiccup snapped. "Trust me. I need to go into the forest."

Hiccup glared at him, his green eyes fierce. Jack had never seen Hiccup look so determined. He could tell Hiccup wasn't going to budge.

"Do you want me to go with you … I can fly you out before you lose any limbs."

"No. I need to do this myself," Hiccup said firmly. Reluctantly, Jack backed off. He flew up to the empty classroom.

* * *

Rapunzel was braiding Merida's hair when Jack flew in the window.

"What happened to your hair?" he said to Merida. She scowled.

"I've decided to start wearing it up," Merida said, "at least some of the time. Anyway, Rapunzel's helping me find the best style for my curls."

Quickly, Jack told them about the dragon and Hiccup's odd behavior.

"I've got it," Merida said.

"What?" Rapunzel asked as she tied off the braid.

"I'll bet you anythin' Hiccup knows about the dragon. He's always goin' on about killin' one, isn't he? And some kids from his tribe are probably going to be here next month. I bet he wants to make the kill before they get here."

"Hmm, you might be right," Jack said, "but why wouldn't he tell us?"

"I wish Hiccup was here," Rapunzel sighed. "He was always good at solving our crazy conspiracy theories."

"Well, I've got a plan to bust 'im, just wait and see," Merida promised.

Before she could reveal the details of the plan, the door flew open and Tooth, wings and feathers displayed, flew in.

"There's a Guardian meeting in ten minutes in the headmaster's office," Tooth informed them.

"So, you guys were serious?" Jack said in shock. "You want us to be in on this stuff?"

"Of course," Tooth assured him, "you don't have to come if you don't want to. But Manny says you should probably attend this meeting."

"What about Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked.

"The Man in the Moon will alert him," Tooth said, not meeting her eyes, "then it's up to him to decide where he wants to be."

With that Tooth flew out of the room. Merida stood up and marched out of the room. Jack and Rapunzel followed her up to Headmaster Ombric's office. Ombric quickly ushered them behind a folding screen.

"Madame Malika has returned," he explained.

"So you won't be translating for Vigor anymore?" Jack said. For the past month, the children had been told that Malika was too sick to translate for Vigor. Ombric could speak all animal languages, so he took over the job of translation.

"No, although it may be a few days until she has recovered enough to resume lessons. As honorary Guardians, you kids are entitled to hear her tale, but I don't want her to know you are here. The last thing we need is for Pitch to know we're recruiting teenagers. Remain behind the screen and do not speak."

The kids promised and Ombric left them to get Malika as the other Guardians filed in. Rapunzel looked through the crack at the hinge. Bunny, Tooth and Katherine were there. From a window, she could see the moon. No sign of Sandy, North, Mother Nature, or Hiccup.

Soon, Ombric returned bringing a distraught looking Malika with him. He pulled a chair out for her and summoned tea and cookies. To Rapunzel's surprise, a plate of them appeared next to the teenagers as well.

Merida took one as they listened to Malika.

"Where have you been?" Katherine demanded. "We told the children you were sick."

"I have been with Pitch," Malika said.

"Why in bloody 'ell would you 'ave been with 'im?" Bunny demanded. Ombric put his hand up to silence the professor's outburst.

"What did he want?" Tooth asked in a much more gentle tone.

"A prophecy. He wanted me to recite all prophecies that Vigor has issued in the last 20 years."

"And?" Ombric encouraged.

"I did it. I said everything I knew."

"What prophecies did you give him?" Katherine asked. "What did he seem interested in?"

"I said so many … but I did notice his posture changed on one of them."

"And?" all the Guardians pressed.

"What's this bloody prophecy?" Bunny demanded.

Malika cleared her throat, " _A darkness descends upon the land. If it cannot be stopped the world will be forever changed. But there are four who have the power. Led by deathless light reborn. They can heal the bond that has broken and restore the peace."_

"The light?" Katherine whispered.

Rapunzel turned the puzzle over in her mind. The prophecy mentioned four. She and her friends were four. It also mentioned healing. Her hair could heal, and it did glow, but she was no leader. She had no clue about the light that would lead them.

The Guardians continued to grill Malika but Rapunzel didn't hear anything of consequence. After they escorted Malika away, Ombric told the teenagers they could come out.

"Do you have any idea what the prophecy means?" Jack asked.

"We have … suspicions," Ombric said, locking eyes with Katherine. She looked almost as shook up as Rapunzel felt.

"You don't think the light could be -" Katherine started. Quickly she shook her head, "No, that's impossible."

"It's gotta be us," Bunny said. "We're the Big Four. The Main Guardians. Tooth, me, North and Sandy."

"What about the 'led by light' part?" Katherine asked.

"Well … uh, the Man in the Moon is a light, ain't he? That's what it meant. The four of us led by the moon can stop the the darkness, otherwise known as Pitch."

"But it could be him!" Katherine pleaded. The other Guardians looked away, not meeting her eyes.

"Who is 'him'?" Jack asked.

"Nightlight," Katherine whispered. "My ... my first love."

"First love?" Rapunzel said, a little wistful. She wondered if she would ever have a first love. Out loud she said, "I didn't know you were married."

"I'm not. Nightlight died years ago."

"Years ago? Geez, how old are you?" Jack asked.

"Guardians live a lot longer than most humans," Tooth pointed out. "I'm already well over 100. Katherine is a bit younger than me, but still quite old."

"So who's this Nightlight guy?" Merida asked. "And why'd you think the prophecy is about him?"

"For a very long time, Nightlight was a boy," Ombric said. "I'm not sure his exact origin. Possibly he was born before even the people of the golden age. Even though many of the people from the golden age had very long lives, they always grew up. But not Nightlight. He was truly an ancient force. But he was pure. Pure good. He valiantly stood over all the Tzars of the Lunanoff family. He became the playmate and companion of each child. And he was there to defend when Pitch attacked and killed the Lunanoffs."

"Some Guardian," Merida said, rolling her eyes, "letting them get killed."

"Oh, but he did his best," Katherine said. "Nightlight might not have been able to save the Tzar and Tzarina, but he did save Manny. And he single handedly held Pitch off for years. Because he glowed, he could pin Pitch down in a way others couldn't."

Rapunzel almost froze. Glowing hurt Pitch. Her hair glowed. She might have the power to fight him. But she didn't want to. She was too weak, too scared. Surely, she'd screw it up somehow. Unaware of Rapunzel's inner turmoil, the Guardians continued their story.

"But he didn't have to do it forever," Ombric pointed out. "A moonbeam came and relieved him of his duty, though it freed Pitch at the same time. He started to rise again. And Nightlight joined us in the fight to put him back in his place. That's how we all became Guardians. Once Pitch was defeated, Nightlight fell in love with our young Katherine here."

"So ... what's the deathless light thing?" Jack asked.

Katherine wiped away a tear, "We had many wonderful years together once I reached adulthood. We were the best of friends ... and more. But Nightlight had been a child for so long ... once he started to experience adult things, he couldn't stop. He started to age. Rapidly. Manny tried to give him the immortality that he gave me, North, and the other humans-turned-Guardians. But Nightlight refused. He said he wanted to experience _all_ of what it was like to be human. And he passed on."

"Which is why 'e can't be the deathless light," Bunny said, patting a tearful Katherine on the back. "I know you want it to be him. You want him back. But it isn't him. It's Manny. The moon has always been our guiding light."

"I suppose," Tooth said. Then she turned to the teenagers, "Do you have any idea what the prophecy means?"

Rapunzel's heart started to thump in her chest. This was it. She had to confess that she had magic hair that glowed when she sang, "Well ...-"

"No. We don't have a clue," Jack said, putting his arm around her protectively. He and Merida escorted Rapunzel out, back to the club room.

"Why didn't you let me tell them?" Rapunzel said, still shaking.

"Because we don't know anything for sure," Jack said, "and I don't trust adults. The Guardians mean well, and it was nice of them to come rescue me and Merida last year, but they still let Pitch get away with an awful lot before we outted him. And now we hear about this other Guardian that died? Who supposedly could hold off Pitch all on his own. They expect me to believe that while they not only employed Pitch here, but promoted him to the Head of Slytherin House?"

"They didn't know who he was," Merida said.

"Maybe not, but still … I just don't trust their observational skills. Or their judgement. If they knew Rapunzel had hair that glows and heals, they might try to turn her into some weapon or something. Trust me. I got one or two of those at home myself. Muggles coming, demanding that I cast spells to make them rich, or curse people they don't like or something. When I refused, they joined the witch hunters. And there are lots of wizards. You're the only person I know with glowing hair. I don't want to put you through that."

Rapunzel smiled at Jack. It was good to know she had such loyal friends.

"Besides," Jack continued, "we don't know that it means you."

"But then who?" Merida protested. "Besides this Nightlight, Manny, and Rapunzel, Who else glows?"

"I don't know. But just because we only know of three people with glowing powers, it doesn't mean they're the only ones. I'm the only known half-elf. But according to my father, he's had relations with hundreds of women. It's possible I have dozens of half-siblings out there. The same thing might have happened with Rapunzel. How did you end up with magic hair again?" Jack asked.

"Mother Gothel said my real mother, Queen Arianna, took a healing potion before I was born. I guess the properties of the potion went into my hair."

"See? Not impossible to duplicate." Jack said. "There could be any number of other kids … or adults or something, with magic hair."

"Unless the ingredients are super rare or something," Merida pointed out.

"Not helping," Jack said sharply. "You don't know what was in the potion do you?"

"No," Rapunzel said shaking her head. "I don't even know if Mother Gothel knew. But I don't know. I've never seen anyone with hair as long as mine before."

"Maybe others cut it?" Merida suggested.

At this, Rapunzel brushed back her hair, revealing a short brown lock behind the gold, "Once it's cut it turns brown and loses its power."

"See, that's what happened," Jack said. "Dozens, maybe hundreds of other kids might have started out with magic hair and accidentally cut it before they were aware it even had magical powers. But maybe, just maybe, there's one more who didn't cut it. And maybe that one is the one the prophesy spoke of. Or hey, it could be the Man in the Moon, just like the Guardians think. I don't know. So there's no reason to sweat it. What happens will happen."

"I wish Hiccup were here," Rapunzel sighed. "He always came up with the best crazy theories."

"He'd say the same things I'm saying," Jack insisted. "Hiccup doesn't even believe in prophesies."

"I still wish I had his advice," Rapunzel said.

"Don't worry. I'll get him back," Merida promised, "even if I have to drag him here by that peg leg of his."

* * *

Hiccup took his seat on Toothless's back and opened his tail for a night flight around the school. There was nothing better than the vibration of a dragon, the wind in his hair, and no cheat sheet to worry about dropping. No need to worry about a Viking on the ground thinking they were under dragon attack and throwing a net at them.

Life was perfect.

Toothless dove down and did a flip. Hiccup moved his leg in perfect time with the dragon. They were totally in sync. They soared up and through the clouds, coming out of the moisture, the moon shown down on him. The beams seemed to be leading back to the school. May be a message from the Man in the Moon, but Hiccup ignored it. Toothless needed to stretch his wings. That was more important than any event at the school.

As Hiccup glided above the spirals of the castle, he remembered his romantic flight with Astrid. Had that been only this summer? He'd been interested in her for so long. He always thought the way to her heart was by killing a dragon. Turns out all he needed to do was learn to ride one.

Hiccup would never be able to thank Toothless enough for what he'd done. Besides helping Hiccup hook up with Astrid, Toothless had also managed to heal his and his father's relationship, and his reputation on Berk. Without Toothless, Hiccup would have been an outcast on Berk, just like Old Mildew.

Hiccup doubted Mildew had stopped complaining about the dragons, even if Hiccup's plan to train them was working. Most Berkians still didn't ride dragons. The older generation was having a much tougher time adapting to the new ways than the young people, but at least they were willing to meet Hiccup half way. He would get them all on dragons by his seventh year, he promised himself.

As the moon sank lower, Hiccup leaned forward and Toothless matched him, coming to a stop at Toothless's new home. Hiccup hugged his best friend and walked back to the school.

He wished his dad had allowed him to fly Toothless out in the open. He hated having to keep it a secret. Again. But he understood why his dad would want that. The other islands could be quite hostile. Hiccup was glad Dagur had been expelled from Durmstrang, or else he'd have to worry about the deranged prince of the Berserkers coming as part of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Hiccup had many bad memories of Dagur trying to kill him as a child. Stoick always put a stop to it, but if Dagur ever showed up here, Hiccup wouldn't be able to count on that protection. And having to keep Toothless hidden just made it all the more dangerous.

Luckily, Dagur wouldn't be coming with the Durmstrang kids. But Astrid would. Hiccup could look forward to that. Thinking of his girlfriend, Hiccup drifted into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

Merida pulled the invisibility cloak low as she snuck out of the castle the next Saturday evening. Technically, students were still allowed to be up, but she didn't want anyone to see her.

She went down to where Care of Magical Creatures was held and watched.

As the sun started to sink below the horizon, she saw him. Hiccup, his metal leg creaking as he tip-toed away from the school and into the forest. She left her post and followed him.

Merida was quite used to walking around a forest, and her recent adventures with the bear spell had only improved her sneaking skills, but Hiccup was a lot smarter than most of her clan. Several times he stopped to look over his shoulder. Merida ducked behind trees and bushes, forgetting that she was invisible.

After a long walk he came to a clearing. Hiccup stopped. From his vest, he pulled out a fish. Merida tilted her head. She knew Berk was a fishing community, of course, but Hiccup didn't seem the type. She couldn't imagine he was sneaking out of the castle in the middle of the night to go fishing. And he had no weapons if the fish was supposed to be bait.

He put the fish on the ground and waited. This was boring. Just as Merida was thinking she should leave Hiccup to his fish watching, she felt hot breath on her shoulder.

Merida turned, praying it was not a bear. What she saw horrified her more than anything. She was staring into the vicious green eyes of a horrible black Dragon.


	7. Old Friends and New Faces

**A/N: Big thanks to** **Nialuna on Archive of our Own who has begun to translate my stories into German (D** **eutsch).**

 **Also, I forgot to set up the poll for house points when the school year started. It is up now, you can either vote on the Fanfiction one, or if you want to vote multiple times go to the survey monkey link on my profile. The Polls will be open until the Thursday before my final chapter.  
**

* * *

Hiccup wondered what was taking Toothless so long. Normally, he would smell the treat and bound right over. Hiccup was just about to call him, when he heard a girl's scream from behind. Quickly, Hiccup turned and saw Toothless standing on his hind legs over … nothing.

Well, not quite nothing. The leaves below Toothless were moving, and that's where the scream came from.

"Toothless, stand down!" Hiccup commanded. Toothless immediately dropped to all fours and backed off. The leaves kept moving away from the dragon until Merida materialized out of thin air, a silver cloak caught on a branch at her feet.

Toothless put his nose to the ground and started sniffing her feet. Merida scrambled away, screaming.

"It's okay," Hiccup said, getting between his friend and his dragon. "He's not going to hurt you. Toothless, this is Merida. Be nice."

Merida slowly got up off the ground. She walked over to Hiccup, giving Toothless a wide berth.

"So … it's true," Merida said. "You … you've really come out here to kill a dragon?"

"What? No. We don't kill dragons on Berk," Hiccup paused, "at least, not anymore."

"But … But everything I know about you … Have you been lying to us all this time?"

"No. Remember how two years ago your dad would have killed any bear he saw? But that's changed now that your mom's been a bear."

"You … You mean that's your mum?"

"What? NO!" Hiccup said, smacking his forehead. "I would never curse my dad. And my mom's already dead. She was carried off when I was a baby. What I meant was, two months ago my tribe would have killed any dragon on sight just as two years ago your dad would have killed any bear on sight. But now we've changed, and learned. The war with dragons is officially over and all it took was losing my leg."

"He's … he's not the dragon that ate your leg, is he?"

"No, but I am the human that broke his tail." Hiccup led Merida to Toothless's back side, showing off his mechanical tail.

"Wow. Did you build this?" Merida asked, slowly reaching out and touching it. Hiccup nodded. Merida's hand went up to the saddle.

"You really are a genius," Merida said. "I'd 'ave expected it more if you were a Ravenclaw."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "I thought that, too, my first year. I wished more than anything that I'd been sorted into Ravenclaw with Rapunzel. But I was wrong. It's not my love of studying that ended the war, but rather my loyalty towards both dragons and my tribe. The Sorting Hat was right."

"So … how did this really happen and why'd you lie?" Merida asked, pointing to his leg.

"It's a long story," Hiccup said, deflecting. Merida crossed her arms and gave him a demanding look, the kind Astrid excelled at.

"Alright, I cave. Remember the Mangler that I built? I used it one night. It's what did this," Hiccup gestured towards Toothless's tail. "I just felt so guilty after I hurt Toothless. He couldn't fly. He couldn't escape. He was trapped in the cove with only the fish in the lake for food. It wasn't fair. I had to make it right. So I got to know him. I spent every day learning everything about him. And every night, building this tail. For a while, everything was good. But then my father discovered him. He took Toothless and all the warriors and stormed the dragon nest. I knew they were all doomed, so I freed the dragons we had imprisoned on Berk. I trained the other teens of Berk to ride, and we went after them. Got there just in time, too. I freed Toothless and together we took on the Queen Dragon, the Red Death. I killed her, but she got a piece of me, too."

Hiccup tilted his false leg.

"And you lied to us because …?"

"Dad made me promise," Hiccup said with a shrug. "He was concerned that Berk's enemies would feel threatened. You aren't going to rally the Scots and wage war against us now that you know, are you?"

Merida moved to Toothless's head and started to pet him. Toothless purred at the touch.

"Are you kidding? This is the coolest thing ever." She moved towards the saddle. "You can't really fly him, can you?"

"You want a ride?" Hiccup offered.

Merida mounted Toothless before Hiccup could. He had to make her slide back so his foot would be in the right place.

Merida wrapped her arms around his waist as he let out Toothless's tail and they took off. Merida's arms were a lot softer than Astrid's, especially since she wasn't wearing metal shoulder plates, but Hiccup would prefer Astrid's. She was the girl he'd spent practically his whole life dreaming about, after all.

Hiccup and Toothless took Merida up into the clouds and around Hogwarts. She laughed into the wind. It was a lovely night.

* * *

Jack checked his hair as he waited excitedly at the side of the lake. He'd spent a lot of time dying the white hair brown that morning. He needed to make sure he looked as normal as possible. Not that it would help, seeing as the other students already knew he had white hair, but it would at least lessen the shock.

Today was the day the students from the other schools would be arriving. Classes let out early for the event. All the students were lined up in front of the school. They were supposed to be arranged by house, but Jack managed to slip out of the Slytherin area and make it to Ravenclaw. Rapunzel hopped up and down as the hour drew near.

Just as the sun started to sink he spotted something on the horizon.

"Is that-" Rapunzel asked, putting her hand above her eyes.

The rickety flying vehicle bounced along the skyline, growing closer. Jack could make out the red paint and the eight reindeer.

"It is," he confirmed, a smile growing. "Durmstrang is here."

Jack and Rapunzel both ducked as the sleigh crashed in the dirt, sending up a mass of grass and mud, splattering the other students.

From the sleigh, Nicholas St. North popped out. Jack and his friends had met him before and knew he was Santa Claus as well as one of the Guardians, but from the way the other students reacted towards the large man with tattoos, Jack doubted that they had a clue who he really was.

"Ho, ho, ho," he said, his belly jiggling like a bowl full of jelly.

He pulled a giant red sack out of the sleigh and the reindeer took off, taking the sleigh with them.

"Where are the students?" someone shouted from the crowd. North turned his sack upside down, and out from the sack poured about 20 confused looking teenagers. For a moment, they all looked a little dazed.

"Ugh, I think I lost my lunch over the ocean," a stout blond boy said.

"I know. It was awesome," a boy with long blond hair and a Viking helmet said. Some of the students looked vaguely familiar. But then one blonde head, shorter than the rest, worked her way out of the crowd. He knew this one for sure. She looked around and spotted Jack. He held his breath.

Before he could count to ten, Camicazi ran over and hugged him.

"I've missed you," she said.

"Yeah, me too," Jack replied, returning the hug. Quickly, Camicazi backed off.

"Okay, enough cuddly stuff. When's the competition? Who do I kill?"

"Beauxbatons hasn't arrived yet," Rapunzel said. Camicazi quickly turned on her.

"Well, what are they waiting for?" she demanded. She then turned back to Jack and punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" Jack exclaimed, rubbing where she hit. "What was that for?"

"You took too long answering my letter," Camicazi said. Jack heard another exclamation. He turned and saw Hiccup in the Hufflepuff area rubbing his arm. A blonde girl who looked a little like Camicazi, except taller and with nicer hair, was standing next to him. Clearly, Hiccup had just received the same kind of welcome. Maybe hitting people was just the Viking way.

Before they could get too comfortable, huge shadows heading towards the lake passed over the castle and the students.

Dozens of giant swans landed gracefully in the water, each with a golden boat behind it. The swans pulled their boats up to the shore and several students climbed out gracefully.

Once everyone was assembled, Headmaster Ombric raised his voice.

"Welcome, to our guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons," he said with a bow. "Now we may all go inside and let the welcoming feast commence!"

Ombric waved his hands and the students turned to go into the building. Camicazi walked in step with Rapunzel and Jack. Jack could see that a majority of the Durmstrang students were hanging around Hiccup.

Once they reached the Great Hall, Rapunzel bid Jack and Camicazi farewell as she joined the Ravenclaw table. Some of the Beauxbatons students joined her. Others went for the Gryffindor table. Conversely, many of the Durmstrang students ended up with Hiccup at the Hufflepuff table. Except for Camicazi. She took her place next to Jack at the Slytherin table.

"So, how's life in your new school?" Jack asked as the food appeared. He noticed significantly more fish than usual on the table. Maybe it was to make the foreign students more comfortable. Jack didn't know what kinds of food they had at Durmstrang or Beauxbatons. He wasn't even sure where the schools were. Maybe France and Russia? Not that Jack knew anything about French or Russian food either. Regardless of where the food came from, it tasted good.

"Oh, it's great. Durmstrang is super fun," Camicazi bragged, "and I've really improved my aim. Watch this."

She took a handful of mashed potatoes and hurled it across the room, landing on the back of a Durmstrang student's head. The burly student turned around. This time, Jack was sure he recognized the boy. He'd seen that Viking on Berk.

The Viking put two fingers to his eyes, then at Camicazi. The 'I'm watching you' sign. Before he could get up, Hiccup put his arm on the Viking, bringing his attention back to the Hufflepuff table.

"What did you do that for?" Jack asked.

"That's Snotlout."

"Hiccup's cousin?"

"I guess. Anyway, he think's he so hot. Tried to hit on me while we were in North's sack. Then he tried to hit on Astrid. He had it coming."

"A real ladies man, eh?"

"He thinks he is," Camicazi said, shrugging. "Just about the only girl I haven't seen him hit on is Ruffnut, and that might just be because he's afraid he'd accidentally make a pass on her brother."

"The twins. Hiccup told me about them."

"Yeah, I don't care for them much, either. Or really any of the Hooligans. But that's what makes Durmstrang so fun. Every day we get to try and kill each other."

"Kill? Really?" Jack asked, hoping she was exaggerating.

"It's just practice," Camicazi assured him. "Most of us live in the Barbaric Archipelago. You don't survive in a place with "barbaric" right in its name if you can't fight. And anyway, I actually got them to expand the class. Rather than just trying to kill other Vikings, Romans, Scots, muggles, and dragons, I proposed we learn how to fight elves."

Jack froze. She must have mistaken his actions for approval because she kept talking.

"And some day, I'm gonna get all the Bog-Burglers together, and we're gonna find out where those crummy elves live and burn it to the ground."

Jack stared down at his haddock. He knew from her letters that she hated the elves. But he'd been hoping that hate was temporary, just one bad experience that could be easily forgotten. Something she wouldn't even remember having told him. Sure, he knew that many other people felt this way about elves, but aside from a few disparaging remarks from people who already hated him for being a muggleborn, Camicazi was the first he met who openly talked about it. All the worse because she was his friend.

Everyone in Hogwarts knew he was a half-elf. It wouldn't take long for her to find out. Especially with Derek trying to ruin his life. The second Derek heard that Camicazi wanted to kill elves, there goes his secret. The only question was, would her hatred or her friendship be stronger?

* * *

Rapunzel took a sip of her favorite soup. She'd never seen the Hufflepuff table so crowded. Almost a quarter of the Durmstrang students settled there, mostly around Hiccup. It was good to see him so popular. She didn't remember them being so friendly when she visited Berk, but maybe it was just because Hogwarts was unfamiliar.

Rapunzel was so focused on the Durmstrang students, that she didn't notice the boy sitting next to her until he spilled his soup on her.

Rapunzel nearly fell off her chair as the hot liquid touched her lap.

"Oh my, I am so, so sorry," the older boy said, scrambling to gather napkins.

"Oh, it's okay," Rapunzel sighed, taking the napkins and starting to clean herself up. "Mother is always saying I'm clumsy. Guess it happens to everyone."

"You? Clumsy?" the boy said with a confused smile. Rapunzel looked into his hazel-green eyes and dazzling white smile. She brushed her hair back.

"Oh, I'm always tripping over stuff … you know." She looked down at her soup concealing her blush. This kid could give Jack a run for his money in handsomeness.

"I take it you're a local student, miss?"

"Rapunzel. And yes, I go to Hogwarts," she replied. "You are from ..."

"Beauxbatons," he filled in. "Rapunzel. I swear I've heard that name before."

"Have you ever spent much time in Corona?"

"Corona … the kingdom with the lost princess."

"That would be me," Rapunzel confirmed. Instantly his manners changed. He leapt out of the seat and gave a deep bow.

"My lady, I am so terribly, terribly sorry that I spilled my soup on you."

"Oh, please don't." Rapunzel insisted, "It's not a big deal or anything. I mean, I've never met my parents or anything. I don't live in a castle."

The boy creased his bow and retook his seat. "Are you sure you don't need the formality?"

"Please," Rapunzel said. "I draw enough attention with my hair. I don't need it because I'm a princess, too. And no one bothers fawning over Princess Merida."

"Wait, you mean there are two princesses in this school?"

"Yes. But it's seriously not a big deal," Rapunzel said. All the attention was starting to make her uncomfortable. She quickly tried to change the subject, "So … clumsy Beauxbatons person. Do you have a name?"

"Oh, please forgive me. You can call me Hans."

Rapunzel smiled at her new friend.

* * *

Hiccup wished the other teens of Berk hadn't flocked to him. Not that he minded being with Berk's Dragon Training Academy, but the other Hufflepuffs clearly weren't as enthusiastic about having so many tough and tasteless Durmstrangian Vikings at their table. And the fact that all the Vikings were nearly completely focused on Hiccup? Well, he just wasn't used to so much attention.

"So, where's Toothless?" Astrid demanded.

"In the forest," Hiccup whispered, "and keep it down. You heard my dad. No one can know he's here."

"Yeah, why should we show off a loser dragon when we could be showing off the best one of all, a Monstrous Nightmare."

"Don't tell me you brought Hookfang!" Hiccup exclaimed quietly.

"We all brought our dragons," Fishlegs whispered hesitantly.

"Where are they?"

"Behind us," Tuffnut said.

"Stormfly is corralling them," Astrid confirmed. "Fishlegs and I have been working on hand signals for them. While we were traveling, we conjured hand shapes behind the sleigh. We've been controlling them all night."

"Great," Hiccup sighed. "And how are you gonna get them into the forest?"

"Dragons have an excellent sense of smell," Fishlegs pointed out. "We figured they'd probably head towards Toothless once we got in range."

"Perfect. Let's hope you're right."

For the duration of the Welcoming Feast, Hiccup kept a wary eye up at the ceiling. It was enchanted to show the sky, but he didn't know if it was just a generic sky or if the ceiling would actually serve as a window into the world. If a dragon flew over Hogwarts, would anyone see it?

"Hey, focus," Astrid said, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Sorry," Hiccup said, turning his attention back to his friends.

"As I was saying," Astrid repeated, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "we have a pretty busy schedule. North was telling us before we signed up to be transfers that we'd have to attend the Hogwarts equivalent of the classes we take at Durmstrang, and he'd fill in any class that doesn't have an equivalent."

"Like weapons," Ruffnut added. "I love weapons class. I can't believe you guys don't get to hit stuff."

"We do cast spells at each other sometimes," Hiccup said, defending Hogwarts.

"Fun spells?" Snotlout interjected. "Like jinxes and hexes?"

"More like defensive spells, or helpful charms," Hiccup said.

"Boring!" Snotlout said.

"Anyway," Astrid said, reclaiming focus, "we do have a little free time. I think we should keep up with the Dragon Academy. You never know. Our dragon stuff might help us in the Tournament."

"Are you going to put your name in the cup?" Hiccup asked.

"Of course," Astrid said.

"We have to," Fishlegs said timidly. "Only people serious about competing were allowed to come. Students not interested in participating had to stay at Durmstrang. I hope my name doesn't get picked."

"If you didn't want to come, why did you?" Hiccup quizzed.

"The … the Dragon Academy," Fishlegs said. "I would be the only member left at Durmstrang. Having a huge secret … and no one to help me sneak out to visit Meatlug … the pressure would be too much. Besides, I did want to see your school. It's a lot more friendly than Durmstrang."

Hiccup didn't know what gave Fishlegs that impression. From what he'd seen, the other students hadn't made up their minds if they wanted to welcome the Vikings or not.

"So, when are dragon lessons?" Astrid pressed. Before Hiccup could answer, Ombric stood and addressed the group.

"Welcome, welcome, everyone. We hope you all enjoy your stay in England. We will try to make everything as comfortable for you as possible. As soon as the feast concludes, the Triwizard Tournament begins. You all have the next month to decide if you want to submit your name to the Goblet of Fire. The cup will be open from now until Halloween for those of you interested. I should warn you, however, once your name is submitted, there is no backing out. The chosen three will be bound to follow through, and the tasks are quite dangerous. Think carefully before you enter."

Next to Hiccup, Fishlegs whimpered. Hiccup wondered what it would be like if he was chosen ... and if one of the other Dragon riders were picked. Against the twins, there would be no competition. Hiccup doubted they'd be chosen, and even if they were, they wouldn't pay attention to the rules. They lived for pain and Hiccup had a feeling that if it came to choosing whether to take the prize or fall into lava they wouldn't be able to make up their minds. Fishlegs wouldn't be much competition, either. Hiccup liked him and if he had to face him in a challenge he would feel sorry for the husky boy. But when it came down to it, although both of them were smart, Hiccup was quicker. He could defeat him.

Astrid and Snotlout were the trickiest. Hiccup would give anything to beat Snotlout and rub it in his face. But as every Thawfest had proved, he just couldn't beat his cousin. And then there was Astrid. Smart, beautiful, talented. and extremely competitive. If Hiccup had to face her, he didn't know what he would do. She'd been really mad at him when he won at Dragon Training. If he won this too, would that reignite her anger? Would she break up with him if he won the tournament? If he had to face her, he might have to throw the match. Of course, if she found that out, she'd probably be furious.

Hiccup shook his head. Of course, this was all speculation. He didn't know if he was going to be the champion. It could be one of the other three hundred students at Hogwarts. And the Durmstrang champion might not even be from the Archipelago, let alone the Hooligan tribe. Hiccup decided to not stress about it. He'd have his hands full keeping the Vikings from revealing the dragons.

"Wouldn't it be glorious," Tuffnut whispered.

"Yeah, I wonder if we'd get mauled," Ruffnut said, a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

While the teens murmured amongst themselves, Ombric kept talking.

"Your headmasters shall serve as three of the judges," Ombric gestured towards North and the Beauxbatons headmaster. "I've also invited two guests judges."

The door at the back of the hall flew open and the Sandman floated in and right behind him, a long, hobbled shadow. Slowly, the shadow grew into something very familiar.

"Please welcome, Sanderson Mansnoozie and Gothi, the Elder."

The students clapped. For a brief moment, Hiccup wondered if Gothi would favor the Berkians, but he instantly dismissed it. She hadn't shown favoritism when watching the dragon training. She let Hiccup win that because he was the best, not because he was the chief's son. Hiccup joined the others in their applause. This was certainly going to be an exiting year.

* * *

Pitch Black watched the wooden boat glide over the water. On the deck, the three occupants were enjoying the evening. They had no idea they were about to become victims to his plans.

He cast a deep dark shadow over the water. The girl on the boat ran to light a lantern, but Pitch moved quicker. He cast a spell on the water freezing it to ice under the muggles. They wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. He had plenty of time to shadow travel to the nearest island. The island of the Outcasts.

Viking guards stood outside, keeping constant watched for the dragons that plagued the land. Pitch never had to worry about dragons. Being one of the golden age meant he could really only be harmed by celestial weapons. To his knowledge, the only celestial weapons on earth were owned by the Guardians. Well, plus the drop of sunlight that now resided in Rapunzel's hair.

Except that the prophecy might have indicated there was another celestial weapon. Long ago, he'd heard the prophecy. From the beginning, he'd suspected that it was about him. He knew prophecies were often made far in the future, often well before the people involved were even born, so he didn't bother worrying about it. In fact, until recently, he'd believed that the prophecy may have even been referring to past events.

Now, however, circumstances were different. He was on the rise again. And he didn't want to be stopped. So far, those four children had gotten in his way one too many times. First, they discovered his Nightmares. Then he discovered Rapunzel's hair was that of the stars, and thus a weapon that needed to be contained.

He thought he could scare the children into compliance by attacking the school, making children into Fearlings. But once more, those four kids had upset his plans, even going so far as to bring the Sandman in. And then, just as Pitch was on the verge of reconnecting with his daughter, the children got him sacked. It was their fault. Prophecy or no prophecy, they deserved to be punished.

Gothel could handle Rapunzel if Pitch could take out the rest. That's what Pitch loved about his accomplice. She feared death so much it made her easy to control. He hadn't spoken to Gothel recently, but he knew his threats to Rapunzel were working. If Gothel didn't want to lose her eternal youth, she would keep the flower contained.

Jack Frost ... he was a problem. Quite possibly the strongest of the four. But Pitch had known that for a while, and he was well on his way to making sure there was no place left in the world for the boy. Pitch might need to give him a push in the right direction from time to time, and he would never pass up the opportunity to make the boy suffer, but he'd already set most of that plan into motion. It didn't need such direct involvement with him anymore.

As for the Viking boy and Scottish lass, Pitch had initially thought them to be the weakest of the four. And yet, both of them had recently stopped their tribes from warring. That did not bode well for someone trying to start a war. It was high time he ended their peace. It was time to take out the big four.


	8. Friction

Flynn Rider bent down to pick up a piece of dry wood. Tonight was the night. He was finally going to get the answers. After a year in captivity, then about four months of compliance, he was going to learn why the Stabbington brothers wanted him. It couldn't just be that they knew he was a wizard. There were plenty of other wizards they could have taken.

 _But none of the other wizards were expelled thieves,_ Flynn reminded himself. That certainly made him an easier target, he supposed. He couldn't go to the authorities for help without giving himself away. Also, if he'd been able to stay in school, he would have learned about non-verbal spells. That would have made escape much easier, especially now that they trusted him with a wand. He could cast a spell and they wouldn't even know it. That way if it backfired, he could cover his tracks.

With an arm full of sticks, Flynn turned back to the abandoned church the brothers were using as their hideout.

Flynn made his way through the burned out building. They'd been here before. At the end of last year, Flynn found Jack Frost's cloak here. The Stabbington brothers had been intending to kidnap Jack to make Flynn more compliant, but Jack got away before they got there. Flynn didn't know why the brothers would return, but he was determined to find out.

"God, it stinks in here," the verbal brother said as Flynn added his wood to the fire.

"Tut, tut," Flynn said as he stoked the fire. "You should watch your language in a church."

"Look around, you think anyone cares about this place?" Stabbington said. Flynn had to admit, the place was in bad shape. Blackened walls and burned overturned pews. A few tatters of tapestries. And even though the fire was several months ago, the awful smoke smell still lingered. He wondered why the muggles hadn't just demolished it. Not even worth the demolition, he supposed.

"So ..." Flynn started, "if it smells so bad, why are we here?"

The brothers looked at him quizzically. Flynn held up his hands in surrender.

"Hey, you need me to work with you. I'm more than willing. It'll be fun. But I do need to know my target. Can't you share anything with me?" Flynn said it in the most sincere, smolder-laden voice he could manage. After a minute, it worked.

"We're meeting someone. He's gonna help us get to the school."

"The school? Do you mean Hogwarts?"

"'Course. That's why we're here. There's something in the school that we want. But only a wizard can get it. You're gonna be that wizard."

It wasn't as much info as Flynn would have liked. But at least now he wasn't running blind. It looked like he would be going back to Hogwarts.

* * *

Merida skipped down to breakfast the morning after the other schools arrived. As her hand reached for the door, a gloved hand shot out.

"Please, allow me," a Beauxbatons boy said, starting to open the door.

"What d'ya think, girls can't even open doors?" Merida said with a scowl. She recognized this boy. He was the wizard who tried to 'rescue' her over the summer. Figures he was just some stupid foreign kid. He quickly backed off.

"Sorry," he bowed. "I didn't mean to insult you. You appear to be quite capable. But in the Southern Isles it is customary for a gentleman to open the door for a lady. Particularly someone as lovely as yourself. I'm terribly sorry about storming your castle and all... I thought I might win your favor if I saved you. I had no idea you were attending Hogwarts, or that I would get the chance to meet you. It just seemed like it might be a fairy tale-"

"Oh, no you don't!" Merida yelled, sensing that he was about to say 'romance'. "I've had enough suitors to last a lifetime!"

Merida pulled the door open herself and stormed into the Great Hall, sitting down at the Gryffindor table with a huff. After she wolfed down a plate of pancakes, she noticed that the boy who'd tried to get the door for her had moved on to the Ravenclaw table, and he was chatting up Rapunzel.

Well, she supposed Rapunzel probably liked guys who held the door open for her. Before Merida could think much more about it, a loud crash came from the Hufflepuff table. Everyone turned to look. It was Hiccup's friends from Berk. Two of them who looked almost identical were fighting over something. Hiccup seemed unfazed by the commotion.

Merida couldn't help but smile. The Viking tribe and her clan really weren't that different. Seeing them all having fun fighting over the breakfast sausages almost made Merida wish that she was a Hufflepuff. Almost. While it would be great this year, she wasn't short-sighted enough to think it would last. Overall, she loved being in the Gryffindor house.

As she watched the table of Vikings, she did notice one major difference between her clan and his tribe. When the fighting broke out in her clan, she and the other women were expected to sit on the sidelines and watch, or put a stop to it like her mother did, while the Viking girls were just as boisterous as their male counterparts.

Merida wondered if they would be sharing any classes with her. Maybe she could be friends with them.

She would soon find out that they were.

Her first class of the morning was Charms with Slytherin. Merida sank down next to Jack.

"So … how'd it go with Hiccup?" he asked.

"Oh …" Merida stalled, in all the excitement of the new schools coming, she hadn't shared her discovery of Toothless. She wasn't sure if she should. Finally, she said to Jack, "You were right. There was a dragon in the woods and Hiccup was trying to find it. But he's not dead, so let it go."

"What? But it's dangerous-"

"He's allowed to have secrets," Merida insisted. "Anyway, he won't want us speakin' of it so free. Not with all the other Vikings hangin' 'round."

Merida glanced meaningfully at a dark haired girl sitting in the back of the classroom. She had no idea if the girl was Viking or not, but she knew she wasn't a Hogwarts student.

Jack didn't quite seem ready to drop the subject, so Merida turned the tables on him.

"Anyway, how'd your reunion with the Viking girl go?"

Jack glanced down at his lap, "Just awful. She still likes me, but she hates elves. I don't know if I can tell her that I am one."

"Don't," Merida shrugged.

"But if she finds out another way-"

"Look, you didn't tell your mother that you found your real dad, or that he was an elf. You don't need to tell some strange girl. I didn't even tell my dad when mum turned into a bear."

"You mean when _you_ turned her into a bear," Jack smirked. He loved to remind her of her mistakes.

"Right. Anyway, it wasn't necessary," Merida said, trying to move on from the events that summer.

"I don't know. Didn't your dad find out anyway and try to kill your mom?"

"Aye. But by that time I'd figured out how to break the curse. If I'd told him earlier, I might not have found the solution before he killed her."

"I don't know," Jack said sullenly. "I mean, this isn't exactly a curse. I might be able to dye my hair, or hide my powers, but I can't change what I am. It's not like I can undo it by stitching up a tapestry. There's no cure."

"She's going to leave at the end of the year, right? You can just stall until she goes."

Their conversation ended as the professor came in. Merida focused on taking notes this time. She'd finally gotten things sorted out with her mother. She didn't need to to get in a fight about grades. If she did really well on her O.W.L.s she wouldn't have a thing to worry about ever again. This might be the best year ever.

* * *

Rapunzel kept glancing over her shoulder and nervously petting her hair while waiting for the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. Even though he was quite distracted with thoughts of Toothless and the Dragon Training Academy, he realized something was different about her.

"What are you looking for?" Hiccup asked, looking up from his sketch.

"Oh … uh, just a new friend," Rapunzel said. Hiccup might have questioned her more if the door hadn't burst open and the Viking teenagers walked in. They stopped at the desk Hiccup and Rapunzel shared.

"What's she doing here?" Astrid demand, eyeing Rapunzel.

"Rapunzel, this is Astrid. Astrid, Rapunzel," Hiccup said, introducing them. "I've sat next to Rapunzel since we were first years."

"Yeah, well, we're here now, and you should sit with us," Astrid pressed, indicating an empty desk at the back. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"These desks can hold three people, four if we squish, not six. Why don't you join me and Rapunzel?"

Hiccup slid his chair more towards the center of the desk. Astrid didn't look particularly happy to have to share the desk, but she pulled up a chair and sat on Hiccup's right.

"It's nice to meet you," Rapunzel said, leaning over Hiccup. Astrid glared at her. Rapunzel slunk back into her seat. The other Vikings took up the empty table in the back. A few other transfers who were not from Berk took up other empty seats.

Professor Joyce came in shortly after.

"Ah, and a wonderful welcome to our guests. Now I've heard tell that you don't have Defense Against the Dark Arts in Durmstrang?"

Astrid shrugged. Professor Joyce shook his head in disappointment.

"Okay, kids. I know this is DADA, but in light of our guests, I think we should delve a little into the history of magic."

Hiccup pulled out his notebook and started feverishly writing down what the professor was saying. Rapunzel jotted down a note every once in a while. Hiccup had a feeling she was right, and that this was more for the Durmstrang kids, but he could never turn down new information.

Even as Hiccup took notes, he couldn't help but steal glances at Astrid. She took a few notes, too, and wrote them in Runes, just like Hiccup. He wondered what his life would have been like if he'd been sent to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts. What would it be like to be surrounded by his own culture? To get lectures that were actually relevant to where he lived, and get to get them in his own language. To be able to meet up with Astrid and the Dragon Riders after class every day, instead of just during a special tournament year. To share every class with her.

But Professor William Joyce's lecture quickly dashed those thoughts, by reminding him that anyone who looked like they might be a squib wouldn't be allowed at Durmstrang.

Joyce kept going back to how wizards used to be hunted down until they banded together to create various safe havens, like Hogsmeade, Godrics Hollow, the Barbaric Archipelago, and Santoff Clausen. But even in those safe places, there was not always peace. Rifts were torn when muggles tried to move in. Some wizards wanted peace, but some of them hated the muggles. And, while Hogwarts insisted upon letting muggleborns into the school, other schools with less friendly admittance policies sprang up. With such different ideologies, wars broke out. To train children to protect themselves, Hogwarts implemented Defense against the Dark Arts, while Durmstrang took on the more aggressive lesson, teaching the Dark Arts directly.

Hiccup was glad he'd ended up at Hogwarts instead of Durmstrang. While it might be nice to be with other Vikings, he wouldn't want to be expected to perform dark spells. He couldn't even kill a dragon ... except an evil queen dragon. But that was different. So far, the only Hogwarts student who knew about that was Merida. Hiccup didn't relish the conversation that would happen when Astrid found out Merida knew. He hadn't thought of a good time to tell her yet.

"Consider it like a shield and a sword," Joyce concluded. "Defense against the Dark Arts is a shield, something that can protect you. But Dark Arts is like a sword; by the end of the fight, someone is usually hurt."

"If you must make a choice between a shield and a sword, take the shield," Hiccup mumbled. Astrid smiled at the memory of their dragon training lessons.

When the class let out, the other Vikings regrouped around Hiccup, pushing Rapunzel out. Hiccup gave her a weak smile as the Vikings took over his attention.

"What a bogus lesson," Snotlout said.

"I thought it was quite informative," Fishlegs added.

"You would," Snotlout said, grabbing the bigger boy's shirt. Despite his size, Snotlout was clearly stronger than Fishlegs.

"Snotlout, let Fishlegs go," Hiccup commanded with an eye roll. Snotlout shoved Fishlegs and turned on Hiccup. Rapunzel stepped back.

"Oh, yeah? Make me, shrimp." Snotlout pushed Hiccup. Hiccup stumbled backwards, knocking into a black-haired girl. She fell down, dropping her books.

Hiccup immediately stooped to help her up.

"Oh gods, I'm sorry," Hiccup said as he picked up a book about dragons.

"Don't be," the girl said, brushing back her curly hair. She smiled at Hiccup, her green eyes shining as she took the books from him.

"Interested in dragons?" Hiccup said, glancing at the title of one of the books.

"Oh … uh, yeah. Well, I should get going." The girl quickly took her things and darted off.

"So, Hiccup, are we going to the forest or not?" Astrid demanded.

"The … the forest?" Rapunzel questioned. "Not our club room?"

"I … I'm just showing my friends around Hogwarts. We'll be up in the club room later. See you in class."

Hiccup led his old friends away, leaving Rapunzel alone.

* * *

Rapunzel stood in shock for a minute. Finally, she shook it off and went back up to the club room. To her surprise, no one was there. All four of them had this hour free. She knew where Hiccup went. But where were Jack and Merida?

When neither of them showed up after ten minutes, Rapunzel wandered down to the infirmary. Mother Gothel was there making the beds.

"Rapunzel?" Gothel asked, stopping her work. "I didn't expect you to come back so soon. Why, whatever is wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Mother," Rapunzel sighed. "Just a little lonely, I guess. My friends are all somewhere else."

"Well, you can't expect them to want to be with you all the time," Mother laughed. "I mean, just look at you. It's a wonder anyone would ever want to be around you. You can't do anything."

"I … I …" Rapunzel tried to think of something to say to defend herself, but the words wouldn't come.

"What have I told you about the mumbling?" Mother scolded. "It's so annoying! It's no wonder no one likes you."

"Yes, Mother," Rapunzel said sadly.

"Oh I'm just teasing, darling, I love you," Gothel said, patting Rapunzel's hair. "But really, maybe you should return to the tower. You can work on your speaking there, and not have to worry about messing up in front of your friends."

"What? No. I have to stay in school," Rapunzel insisted, surprising herself with her own forcefulness.

Mother Gothel's eyes narrowed, "Fine. Do whatever you want! God forbid you listen to your mother who only has your best interests in mind. When it's too late, you'll see. Just wait! Mother knows best!"

With that Mother Gothel stormed out, leaving Rapunzel alone again. Slowly, Rapunzel sank down onto one of the empty beds. She could feel her eyes watering up. Was Mother right? Were her friends avoiding her?

After a few minutes of self pity, she got up and left the infirmary. As she came out the door, she tripped and almost fell. Just before she hit the floor, a hand shot out and caught her wrist.

"Are you okay?" a deep voice asked, pulling her up.

"Oh, Prince Hans," Rapunzel said, regaining her footing. The seventh year smiled at her, then slowly turned it into a frown.

"What's wrong?" he asked, brushing a finger under her eye, wiping away a tear.

"Oh, it's nothing," Rapunzel said, brushing away the last of her tears. "Just … just lonely, I guess."

"Come now, you're so pretty there must be a long line of people wanting to be your friend."

"I … I have a few friends," Rapunzel said, brushing back her hair, "but I guess they have other things to do."

"Well, I don't. Why don't you show me around the school? I bet you know all the best places."

Rapunzel nodded and gave Prince Hans the grand tour. As they walked, she talked about everything. Her life in the tower, being the lost princess and having to hide with Mother Gothel. The only thing she avoided talking about was her hair. At one point Prince Hans did ask about it; how could he not, seeing as it was almost double the length of her dress while braided, but she was able to dismiss it as simply being the result of a spell gone wrong.

By the time she was back in class, she felt so much better that she didn't even bother to ask her friends why they didn't come up to the club room.

* * *

Jack Frost perched on the tallest spire of the castle in the chilly October wind. Far below he saw people running around, having fun. He wished he could join them, but he was too scared. Scared that Camicazi would find out what he was. Scared that she would start ignoring him like everyone used to. For a long time, she was his only friend in Slytherin house. He didn't know if he could take her rejection. And so he was hiding on top of the tower, too afraid of her reaction to even visit the club room where his real friends might be hanging out, for fear that Camicazi might drop by.

He supposed it was lucky she was a year younger, or they might be in the same classes. He would have had to choose between skipping class or dealing with her. He didn't know which he'd pick.

As Jack sulked, a dark shadow covered him. Immediately, he grabbed his staff.

"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," the shadow said, the unmistakable voice of Pitch Black. "What if your little friend down there sees you flying? You know no human wizard can fly with just a staff."

The shadow rolled off of Jack down to the courtyard. He could clearly make out Camicazi amongst the other students, practicing with her wooden sword. Jack's grip on his staff tightened, but he resisted the urge to fly away. He didn't know if Pitch was lying or not, but he didn't want to take the chance.

"The Guardians will find you," Jack said tightly. "They'll make you wish you'd never come back."

"But I only came to help you, didn't I?" Pitch said, the shadow covering Jack once again. "I came to warn you."

"What? You're evil … you're trying to start a war."

"My dear boy, do you blame a bear for eating the fish? Do you blame the whale for eating krill? No, you know that they need it to survive. I can't help it if I need fear to thrive. Yes, I started a little war, played a few games with the students under my care. But when you think of it, no one got hurt."

"Only because we messed up all your plans."

"Or was it because I allowed you to mess up my plans?"

Jack didn't answer but started maneuvering to the other side of the spire so he could fly away without being seen.

The shadow followed him as he made his way across the tiles.

"I only came to warn you," Pitch insisted. "See?"

The shadow changed in front of Jack, displaying a young girl running in terror with an angry mob chasing her. Jack recognized the profile instantly, it was his sister.

"That … that's not real," Jack insisted.

"Very clever, you're right. It's not. But it could be. Think how easy it would be for me to infect your little village with this kind of fear. All it would take is to scare the person with the power. She would be dead before you could even find a Guardian to tell."

"You couldn't!" Jack declared.

"Oh, like it was so hard to frame you for the Fearlings? What if I did the same to her … only this time, they would know who has the mysterious ice powers. Witch hunts are so easy to start."

"You wouldn't!" Jack yelled.

"That depends on your cooperation, doesn't it?"

Jack dropped his arm in defeat, "What do you want?"

"I only wanted you to listen to my warning. The Guardians. They are not who you think. I know how you must see them. As beacons of light chasing away my darkness and fear. But take a long look at how they do it. Look at what they have done this year."

"You … you mean the tournament?"

"Exactly. They want to bring you all together to fight me. But they're really being unethical, when you think about it. Exposing children to horrific obstacles. Sparking fights between the schools."

"They aren't doing that!" Jack protested.

"No? Then why are you hiding on the roof?"

"Because of you! You're the one who's doing all of this. Leave me alone. Get out of my head. And leave my sister out of it."

"Fine. I'll go. But think long and hard about which side you want to be on. The Guardians _are_ provoking the fights. Look, there's one now."

The shadow pointed down before disappearing. Jack looked down at the edge of the forest. He could clearly see two girls trying to kill each other. No mistake. One of the girls was a Viking from Hiccup's tribe, and the other was Merida.


	9. The Champion Chosen

Merida really wished she had her bow and arrow so she could show this Viking who was boss.

It started simple enough. Realizing she had a free hour, she decided to hang with her friends, when she spotted Hiccup and his Viking friends heading into the forest. Guessing that they were going to visit his dragon, she tried to tag along.

"Hey, wait up!" Merida called as they entered the forest.

"What is she doing here?" one of the two blonde girls demanded.

"Oh, uh, hey Merida," Hiccup said. "This is my … friend …. Astrid. Astrid, this is Merida."

"Are you going to visit Toothless?" Merida asked.

Astrid's eyes narrowed, "You told her?!"

Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, "She … she sort of discovered him. You know. Like exactly the same way you kind of discovered him."

"Aye, he's so cool. Flying on a broom is fun, but bein' on a dragon, that's pure barry."

"You let her fly on Toothless?" Astrid accused, turning on Hiccup. He backed up as she advanced. "I thought that was our thing. Or do you just give private dragon flying lessons to every girl?"

"Astrid, it's nothing," Hiccup said. "Merida has been my friend for the past four years. She can hang out with us."

Astrid glared at Merida with such force that Merida wondered if she would burst into flames. Merida could tell when she wasn't wanted but it didn't mean she had to take it lying down.

"No. It's fine, Hiccup," Merida said. "Hang out with your Viking friends … just like you did back when everyone thought you were a squib. I suppose that Durmstrang taught you that? Maybe that's why all Vikings are numpity."

"Listen you … you veslinger **,"** Astrid said turning on Merida. "You got a problem with Vikings?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact I do. Vikings are vile, murderous, and evil. Hiccup is the only good one, and that made him an outcast among you," Merida said, she could feel her blood boiling.

"Hey, we're Hooligans, not Outcasts," Hiccup said, but neither of the girls paid him any attention.

"That's it!" Astrid said, launching herself at Merida, knocking both girls to the ground.

"Ooh, cat fight," one of the boys said.

"Over Hiccup? Come on, they should be fighting over me, not that loser," Merida heard another boy say as Astrid elbowed her.

Normally, Merida was pretty good in a fight, but this time she was clearly disadvantaged. While Merida wore a long dress, Astrid's clothes had no restrictions. In fact, her pleated skirt had weird metal spikes in it that poked into Merida whenever they connected.

And Astrid was strong. While Merida could hold her own against a strong opponent, she'd never fought a strong girl before. Women in Clan DunBroch did not fight.

As the girls rolled around the forest floor, Merida could hear Hiccup shouting, "Girls! Stop fighting!" but Merida was too angry to quit. She had to put little miss Viking in her place. The girls struggled together, slowly moving back towards the school. Merida was lucky she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail or it would have been one more disadvantage.

As they reached the edge of the forest, Merida was really starting to wish she had a weapon, though she couldn't help but be glad that Astrid was unarmed as well.

Merida finally got the upper hand as Astrid tripped on a root. Merida had her pinned down, ignoring the dents caused by the spiky skirt, when something cold nipped her nose.

Merida burst out laughing. What was wrong with her? She was still furious at Astrid, but she laughed again. And again. And Astrid laughed too. Against her will … Merida was happy.

* * *

Hiccup and the other Vikings followed Merida and Astrid as the girls fought. Hiccup kept trying to stop the fight, but the girls wouldn't listen to him.

"I don't suppose you could give me a hand in breaking them up?" Hiccup asked the other Hooligans.

"Wait, you want us to stop them from fighting?" Tuffnut said.

"But that's the fun part! Watch," Ruffnut added, shoving Tuffnut. Hiccup ignored them, focusing on Merida and Astrid. Their fight was rapidly moving back to where people could see them from the school. Hiccup pulled out his wand, but he wasn't sure what spell he could cast that would break them up without hurting them.

Just as he decided on the _petrification_ spell, Merida started laughing uncontrollably. So did Astrid. As Merida climbed off of Astrid, she shouted, "Ha ha, Jack … he he, Jack Frost!" Merida bent down giggling. "Get down here right now!"

A few moments later, Jack landed in the forest with them. Merida quickly shoved him, "The cheering charm? Seriously?"

Jack grinned, "Aw, come on. You know you'd regret fighting later. What would your mother say?"

Merida tried to scowl, but the cheering charm kept making her smile.

"What were you fighting about anyway?" Jack asked.

Merida glared accusingly at Hiccup. So did Astrid. Hiccup's brow creased. He glanced at Astrid. She was still laughing. Hiccup looked over his shoulder at Fishlegs and Snotlout. Snotlout wasn't paying attention, checking out his fingernails. Fishlegs shrugged. The twins were still fighting.

"Jack … I don't like keeping secrets from my friends. Why don't you follow us?"

"Seriously, more of them?" Astrid demanded between giggles.

"Astrid, it's fine," Hiccup insisted. "Jack has a secret of his own. He won't betray us. And even so, my father was wrong. I mean, keeping them a secret from the school, okay. But keeping them a secret from my friends? That's not me."

"You kept it from us all summer," Fishlegs pointed out.

"Thank you, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, exasperated, "but that's my point. I tried keeping it a secret on Berk, but then Astrid found out, and then the whole tribe. I tried keeping it a secret here, but Merida found out. And so did Jack, except he doesn't know it."

"What? What don't I know? Uh, can someone tell me what's going on and what all the fuss is about?" Jack asked.

"Follow me." Hiccup and his gang started walking back into the forest. Hiccup led them to the clearing where he kept Toothless.

Jack constantly peppered them with questions as they walked, but Hiccup kept tight lips as he led them to the right spot. Stopping in the clearing, Hiccup turned to face Jack.

"Don't scream," Hiccup instructed. He put his hands up to his mouth and tried to imitate the call of a Night Fury.

Jack raised an eyebrow and glanced around. For a minute nothing happened. Hiccup wondered if he should try calling again, but then the leaves rustled. A black mass came bounding out. Jack nearly fell backwards, raising his staff defensively.

"Don't blast him," Hiccup commanded. Jack still held his staff, but he didn't do anything. Toothless nuzzled Hiccup as Hiccup announced, "Jack this is Toothless, my pet dragon."

For a moment, Jack just stared in shock, then he burst out laughing, "Okay, you got me. How did you do this? Is that a puppet or something? Is it for Halloween? This is the best practical joke I've ever seen."

"It's not a joke. He's real," Hiccup said as the other dragons, Barf and Belch, Meatlug, Hookfang and Stormfly came out of the forest. Jack's smile fell as he stared in wonder at the dragons. Slowly, Hiccup took Jack's hand and approached Toothless guiding Jack's hand to stroke the scales. Hiccup could feel Toothless purring as he rubbed him.

After a minute, Jack stopped the petting and looked at Hiccup, "But how? Last year you were so determined to kill a dragon."

"You remember Merida's story about learning not to fear all bears?"

"The one with all the plot holes?"

"Oh, don't you start on that again!" Merida ordered.

"Anyway," Hiccup continued, ignoring them. (For some reason, Jack and Merida fighting didn't bother him half so much as Merida and Astrid fighting.) "Turns out, we just didn't understand dragons. I trained Toothless, and we destroyed the Dragon Nest."

Jack nervously glanced up at Hookfang, "And you aren't afraid they'll eat you?"

"Not anymore. It's all in the training."

He stepped back and reached into his satchel, pulling out a loaf of bread. He held it to Toothless. Toothless grabbed it with his mouth. Hiccup addressed his friends, "If you need to make a dragon drop something, just scratch."

Hiccup scratched under Toothless's chin until the dragon purred, letting the bread fall to the ground.

"Nice try, wimp," Snotlout said as Hookfang picked up the piece of bread, "but us strong Vikings know the only way is to yell DROP IT!"

To Snotlout's credit, Hookfang did spit out the bread, only to pick up Snotlout with his mouth. Jack and Merida both took a step back.

"Don't mind him," Hiccup said. "The dragons won't hurt you if you don't antagonize them."

"Hey, can you let me out? Can somebody do that scratchy thing?" Snotlout called. Hiccup ignored him.

"So … do you want to -" Hiccup froze as the bell in the castle rang. "Oh no, we're gonna be late. Mount up!"

Hiccup swung his leg over Toothless as the others climbed onto their dragons.

"Need a lift?" Hiccup said, holding out his hand.

"I'm off for the next few hours," Jack said, declining.

"I'm not," Merida said, taking Hiccup's hand. Next to him, on Stormfly, Astrid growled. Hiccup shrugged and urged Toothless on, leaving Jack alone in the forest. They couldn't fly all the way to the castle, of course, but having the dragons take them back to the edge of the forest would save some time. Then they could use hand signals to send the dragons back.

* * *

Pitch Black almost fell over when his shadow returned. Normally, a quick visit to the school would be easy. But with the Sandman there, he had to be extra careful. Sandman had muted his vision into the school. But luckily, Pitch had selected Camicazi to bring down the ice elves. With her leading the charge, Jack's fear turned into a beacon for Pitch to follow. He would not be able to do more than a thin shadow, but Jack didn't have to know that. And not knowing was the scariest thing of all.

Pitch was glad for the opportunity to see how the rest of his plan was going. Most of the Vikings lacked the ability to feel fear, but at least their fights had frightened the rest of the student body. It gave him some feedback **.** He supposed he didn't have to do anything, other than wait for the rest of his plan to be set in motion. But it was so much fun to mess with Jack, he couldn't help himself.

Besides, there was something … special … about that boy. He hadn't noticed it before, or if he had, he dismissed it as simply a part of the boy's heritage. Ice elves weren't terribly common. But now that he'd heard the prophecy, he was starting to have doubts. Was it just his imagination? Was there something deep inside Jack? Something so deep inside that Jack himself was probably unaware of it. Or was it that his own thoughts, trying to find meaning in the prophecy, had caused him to notice something that wasn't there?

Whether or not there was something there, it wouldn't hurt him to mess with Jack some more. His plans for the school should run smoothly without his interference. Perhaps he should arrange a reunion for the Frost family.

* * *

Rapunzel was in bliss. Sure, her friends were ignoring her, but Prince Hans was so considerate, and such a good listener. He never got bored when she talked and he was always quick to point out her successes. She hadn't told Mother about him yet, though. As far as Mother Gothel was concerned, Rapunzel was spending all her free time up in the club room.

Technically, that was true. She just left out the fact that neither Jack, Merida, nor Hiccup ever seemed to be there. Instead, she and Prince Hans would sit and talk. Sometimes, she would paint.

One day, as she was explaining the images on their canvases, Prince Hans asked, "So you live in this tower?"

"Oh, yes," Rapunzel said. "I have my whole life."

"Is it near the palace?" Prince Hans asked. Rapunzel bit her lip.

"I … I think so. Every year, on my birthday, my parents release floating lights. I can see them from my tower."

"Floating lights?" Hans asked, his interest piqued.

"Yes!" Rapunzel said, picking up a paint brush, she dabbed it in yellow and started to add the lights to the scene. "It's a huge festival. I think they're technically lanterns, but my tower is so far away that they all look like glowing dots. A path of light to take me home."

Hans smiled, "So what's the palace like?"

Rapunzel turned to focus on her work, "Like any palace, I assume. I've … I've never actually been there."

"Really? Not even once?" Hans said, pushing her hand away from the canvas.

"Mother … Mother Gothel, that is … she … she said my parents weren't ready for me. They don't want me in the spotlight until I'm ready," Rapunzel tucked back her hair. "I just have to be better."

"But my darling, you are already perfect," Hans said. Rapunzel blushed and looked away, but Hans put his hand under her chin and turned her head to face him. He pulled her face towards his. Rapunzel had seen other students do it, but didn't know what to expect. Should she go along with it? Did she want to? She didn't know. If she pulled away, would he be mad? Would he not like her? Nearby, Pascal chirped, but it didn't help her decide.

As she debated, he pulled her head closer. This was it, the last moment to decide, it was now or never. That's when the door flew open.

Rapunzel gave a sigh of relief and quickly pulled away from Hans as Merida stormed in. She threw her bow down on the table and plopped down in a chair. After a minute, she leaned forward and angrily moved her bow to the back of her chair.

"Is something wrong?" Rapunzel asked.

"Ya' think?" Merida demanded. "That little Viking wretch is wrecking everything!"

"Hiccup's friend?" Rapunzel prompted, a little glad that Merida had interrupted Hans. While she liked him, he was moving a bit fast for her.

"Yes. His precious little Astrid," Merida said with derision. "He's spending all his time with her and the other Vikings instead of us. And what kind of name is Astrid anyway? All the other Vikings have horrid names to scare away gnomes and trolls. Why isn't hers horrid?"

"Maybe he's just more comfortable around them," Rapunzel suggested. "I mean, they were there when he lost his leg and we weren't. Maybe they formed some kind of bond or something."

"Oh, they saw what happened to his leg alright, but if anything, that should have made him stand by us, not them!" Merida snapped. "I mean, we were there for him back when he was clumsy and awkward. They only like him now because he's the Drag- because he's … uh, disadvantaged."

"Isn't half his tribe like that?"

"Don't point out flaws in my logic!" Merida yelled. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Hans shouted. Merida looked up in shock, noticing him for the first time.

"What are you doing here?" she asked bitterly.

"The Princess was simply showing me her lovely paintings." Prince Hans stood and kissed Rapunzel's hand. Rapunzel blushed as Merida rolled her eyes. Hans smiled, "I suppose I should be getting to bed. Goodnight, princesses."

Hans left, leaving Rapunzel to stare after him.

"Don't tell me you're falling for him," Merida said.

"Why not?" Rapunzel asked, turning on her friend. "You have three suitors. I've only got the one."

Merida didn't respond. Rapunzel waved her wand and packed up her paints. As Rapunzel stormed out the door, she turned to Merida, "By the way, you're not the only one who's feeling locked out. I know you and Jack know why Hiccup was sneaking around down there in the forest. Yet neither of you thought to tell me. Instead of complaining about it, I went out and found a new friend. Maybe you should do the same!"

Rapunzel left and slammed the door, which shocked even her. She'd never slammed a door before. She didn't even have a door to slam back in the tower, only a curtain for privacy. Mother said it was so she couldn't accidentally lock herself in or out.

As Rapunzel made her way back to her room in the infirmary, her anger cooled. She wasn't really mad at Merida. She didn't mind that her friends weren't sharing their adventures with her. Quite frankly, Mother wouldn't like it if she went on those adventures anyway. Whatever Hiccup was doing in the forest was much too dangerous for an immature girl like her. Still, it would be nice if her friends bothered to invite her, or at least didn't yell at her for not pining in her room missing them all day.

Mother was waiting with a hair brush when Rapunzel got in. She sang as Gothel brushed her hair.

"So … has anything interesting happened so far this year, pet?" Gothel asked after she became young again.

"N … nothing," Rapunzel mumbled. "Nothing important."

Gothel shrugged and let it go. Rapunzel didn't know if it was a lie or not. There was nothing interesting about having a new friend … right?

* * *

Jack sulked in a window seat near the library. He didn't know what to do. His friends were busy with their prefect duties, plus they had to report him if he got up to any mischief, which made hanging around them no fun. Even if Jack could quell his impulses enough, Merida and Astrid were at each other's throats all the time, with Hiccup constantly between. Rapunzel was spending all her time with some frilly Beauxbatons boy, Camicazi kept raging about elves and he kept jumping at shadows.

He knew he should tell the Guardians about his encounter with Pitch Black. Of course they could help … assuming Pitch didn't get to his sister before they did.

Burgess was at the tipping point. One false step and he could easily believe the town's fear would lead them to drive him and his family out. The only reason they hadn't been forced to flee so far was because they had a history there. But if the people ever felt they were in immediate danger, all that could change.

Jack rubbed his head. Should he abandon school and fly back home to protect his mother and sister? Or would his presence in Burgess just make the problem worse?

"Hey, mind if I sit there?" a girl with dark hair asked. Jack shrugged and moved over for her.

"You aren't a Hogwarts student," Jack pointed out. The girl looked to be about his age, with dark curly hair falling in front of her green eyes.

"Guilty," she said brushing her hair back. She opened a book.

"So which school are you from?"

"Which one do you think?" the girl asked. Jack smiled as he appraised her, he loved a good game. A loose braid, leather vest over slacks, and her book was about dragons.

"You look kinda like the Vikings," Jack decided. "Durmstrang?"

She smiled and gave half a nod.

"Are you one of Hiccup's friends?" Jack questioned.

"No no, I … I don't really have any friends," the girl said quietly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to here that," Jack said, moving closer. "I'm a little short on friends at the moment, too."

"That's hard to believe," the girl said, leaning in. "I saw the way all the other girls looked at you. I could have sworn you were Mister Popularity."

Jack waved his hand, "Aw, you should have seen me the last few years. There were days when I felt invisible. I guess I do have a few friends, but they all seem to be off fighting with each other. My name is Jack Frost, by the way."

"Heather," the girl said with a smile. Jack grinned back. It was nice to have a friend who wasn't fighting with anyone.

* * *

It was Saturday. The other schools had been there almost a month now. The last day to put your name in the cup was fast approaching. In the meantime, though, Hiccup was busy showing the other Vikings around Hogsmeade.

"And this is the tea shop-" he announced.

"Bor-ing, it looks so girly in there," Snotlout said.

"Yeah," Ruffnut added. "Even my brother wouldn't be caught dead in there, and he's the girliest person I know."

"Yeah," Tuffnutt agreed. "Wait. What? I don't get what you're saying."

"Moving on," Hiccup said with a sigh. It wasn't long before they came to the candy shop.

"I want some candy," Fishlegs said. "Do you think they'd have rocks for Meatlug?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they don't carry rocks. And I don't like this candy store much."

"Why not?" Astrid asked.

"The owner, well, he says he hates elves."

"I don't blame him," Snotlout said. "Creepy little things. If I see one, I kill one."

"Yeah," Astrid agreed. "Elves only exist to serve wizards. The ones that don't serve us shouldn't exist."

"How can you say that?" Hiccup asked, a little shocked at his friends' prejudice. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Vikings weren't exactly known as a tolerant group. But he'd never heard them talk that way at home. "Don't you guys realize that less than six months ago, you might have said the same thing about dragons?"

That gave his friends pause, but he wasn't fool enough to believe that it would make them forget how they felt. Looks like Jack was right to be dying his hair and pretending to be normal. Hiccup quietly suggested that the group slip back into the forest for some dragon training. Better to get them away from wherever Jack might be hiding.

* * *

Merida hid in an alley as she listened to the Vikings. As soon as they said they hated ice elves, she'd heard enough.

She just couldn't stand Astrid. She knew she should just be glad for her friend. After all, Hiccup had been doodling pictures of the girl for at least a year. He deserved his happy ending. But now, Astrid was hogging Hiccup all the time. And Hiccup was letting her. That's what really burned Merida up. He should put his foot down, stand up to her.

Merida stormed off through the village, trying to quell her anger. Rapunzel was off on some date with that stupid prince. Jack was enjoying the popularity of the Slytherin girls, and Hiccup was being a big fat traitor. Merida almost wished the lords' sons were here so she wouldn't be all alone. Almost. They might be nicer than she initially thought, but she still had zero interest in them.

With no friends to hang out with, Merida sank into prefect duties. She felt like her mum, having to reprimand kids who were on the verge of misbehaving. _Congratulations, mum,_ she thought bitterly, _I've finally turned into you._

Merida rounded a corner and saw a young blonde girl, about a year younger. The girl was using a wooden sword to extort money from some first years.

"Now, give me all the candy ya' got, or I'll run ya' through," the girl added as she pocketed the coins. The first years trembled but began handing her their lollipops and chocolate frogs. Merida had to put her foot down.

"Hey," Merida said, stepping in. "Give them back the money."

"Or what?" the younger girl demanded, scanning the intruder. "Haggis eater."

Merida's eyes narrowed, but she let the insult roll. She was quite used to that kind of banter from Jack. She couldn't let it interfere with her duties, "Or I'll deduct house points."

"Ha! Only works if I'm in your house. I don't even go to your school anymore, Dragon breath."

"You must be Jack's friend Camicazi," Merida said, remembering the girl from their very brief meeting in her second year. Merida smiled as she remembered the story of how Jack first met the girl.

"What's it to you, Gryffindor?" Camicazi spat.

"How about a challenge?" Merida proposed, looking at the girl's wooden sword. "If I win, you'll give the first years back their money and candy. If you win, I'll reimburse them from my own purse and give you the rest."

"You're on," Camicazi agreed. Merida quickly transfigured a stick into a sword just like the Durmstrang girl's and the two of them crossed swords.

As Camicazi parried and lunged, she kept up a rapid fire speech, "You're quite good for a barbarian."

"Who you calling barbarian, barbarian?" Merida replied just as quickly. Their fight attracted a crowd, but no one tried to intervene. Camicazi was quite a good swordsman, but Merida had been trained by her father and fought with her little brothers. She knew how to beat someone smaller who relied on distraction. By expertly flipping her wrist at the right time, she knocked the sword clean from Camicazi's hand.

Camicazi, for her part, handed back the money and sweets with no objection. Realizing the fight was over the crowd broke up.

"That made me thirsty," Merida said. "Care for a drink at the pub?"

"Why not," Camicazi shrugged. "Where'd you learn to fight like that? I know they don't teach weapons here."

"No. But my clan does. Anyway. The sword isn't even my weapon of choice. I'm much better with a bow."

"Really?" Camicazi asked as they entered the building.

"Oh, aye. I'll show you sometime, if you like."

"Brilliant. You can join my army."

"You have an army?"

"Sort of. Right now it's just three Bog Burglers. I thought about inviting some of the Durmstrang kids, like that Astrid, but I can't stand her."

"Oh really," Merida said, liking Camicazi more each second.

"Not at all. If she's our champion, I'm gonna puke."

"Tell you what, drinks are on me," Merida said as they sat down. Finally, she had someone to complain about Astrid to.

* * *

Rapunzel stared at the cup. This was it. The last day to submit your name. She'd been watching it all day. Prince Hans had been one of the first to submit his name, though he said that he wouldn't want to be picked if Rapunzel was selected as the Hogwarts champion. No chance of that. She hadn't submitted her name, and had zero intention of doing so.

All day, students who'd waited until the last minute trickled in, throwing their names into the fire cup. She witnessed the twins from Durmstrang threatening to throw each other in, but Hiccup and his girlfriend broke them up before they could.

Camicazi made a spectacle of submitting her name, by using the levitation charm to push herself up to the top of the cup. She magnified her voice as she threw the paper in, shouting, "I'm gonna be the champion, and don't you forget it!"

The rest of the submissions were fairly quiet. Merida and Hiccup simply walked up to the cup and dropped their names in. Jack raced the prefect, Derek, to get his name in the cup, doing a flip in the air when he beat him.

Derek simply shoved Jack.

"No half-breed will ever be the champion," he said cruelly. Jack shrugged it off and kept walking.

"What was that about?" Hans asked, sitting next to Rapunzel.

"Oh, Derek just has some dislike of Jack's ancestry. It's nothing," Rapunzel said. She didn't know if Hans was as against ice elves as some of the Durmstrang kids, but she didn't want to set more people against him.

"He's being bullied?" Hans asked, his fists clenching.

"Yes," Rapunzel admitted, "but it has gotten better. He used to be bullied by the head of his house."

"He's your friend?" Hans asked.

"Yes," Rapunzel said developing a blush. "Jack's very nice. He always defends me when others look at me weird because of my hair. And when he started to turn- er, when he stopped wearing shoes, I stopped wearing mine so he wouldn't be alone. We're barefoot buddies, I guess."

Hans looked from Rapunzel to Jack, a deep line creasing his forehead. There were some girls hanging around. They kept looking from Jack to Hans. Probably trying to decide which of them was more handsome, Rapunzel thought. She started comparing the boys, too. They were both very cute, but in different ways. Jack had a childlike innocence about him. He was extremely thin and elfish, not surprising considering he was half elf. Hans, on the other hand, though still young, looked far more grown up, with facial hair and a muscular build. Rapunzel kind of liked it better. She was glad Hans seemed to like her. Sitting here with him was much better than sitting anywhere alone.

* * *

Hiccup waited eagerly as the names were chosen after the feast on Halloween. Professor Ombric presided over the ceremony. One by one, pieces of paper flew out of the cup.

Ombric took the first paper, "The first champion, from Beauxbatons, is …. Prince Hans Westergaard of the Southern Isles!"

A huge cheer went up from the Beauxbatons students, and half the girls from the other schools. Hans smiled and winked at all the girls as he walked to the stage, but Hiccup noted that he gave a special bow to Rapunzel, and a nod to Merida.

The next piece of paper flew out. Ombric took it and read,"The second champion, from Durmstrang, is Astrid Hofferson."

Hiccup clapped as Astrid jumped up and joined the other student. He was glad it was her. She was so tough and strong. If he hadn't found Toothless, there was little doubt that she would have won the chance to kill the dragon.

Now, just so long as he wasn't picked by the cup, everything would be perfect. He could devote all of his time and energy to helping Astrid win.

After she took her place on the stage with Hans, the next slip of paper flew out of the cup. Hiccup wasn't worried that he would be chosen. For one thing, a lot more Hogwarts students entered since they were hosting. Plus, even though Hiccup was much better at magic and brilliant with dragons, he was still physically weak and quite clumsy. The cup was supposed to pick the best person for the challenge.

Ombric opened the third piece of paper.

Hiccup held his breath as the name was read.

"The third champion, from Hogwarts … Jackson Overland Frost!" Ombric announced.

 _Uh oh,_ Hiccup thought.


	10. Where Loyalties Lie

Jack, Astrid, and Prince Hans stood by the head table as Ombric concluded his speech. Jack knew he should probably be paying more attention to what Ombric was saying, but he was still in shock from being chosen. He'd put his name in as a joke. Not that he didn't want to win, but he hadn't been expecting it.

Most of the Slytherin house assumed you had to be pureblood to be chosen, and certainly not part ice-elf.

Ombric gestured to a side door. The three students were ushered into a private room. There was a large round table and chairs set up, but none of the students sat down. After a few moments of awkward silence, the door opened and the five judges came in.

"I am hoping you is all ready to be champion," North said, "because there is no backing out now."

Jack glanced at the other two. Astrid stood looking blasé, with her arms crossed. Hans smiled politely at his competitors.

"So what's the challenge?" Jack asked. Sandy smiled mysteriously.

"Part of the challenge is facing the unknown," Ombric translated for Sandy's sand signs. "However, I am permitted to give you some clues. The challenge will take place on November 24th. You are only permitted to bring your wand."

Jack looked nervously at his staff. He'd hardly let go of it since he bound his powers in it. But he wanted to play fair. The other kids didn't have ice magic, so it would only be right for him to put his aside.

"Wait, we aren't allowed to be armed?" Astrid said, a hint of concern in her voice.

"You must enter the challenge armed with only your wand," the head of Beauxbatons confirmed, "and the challenge could take awhile. There are bonuses for a timely completion, but the challenge officially stays open until you complete it, or give up. It's up to you whether that takes an hour or a month. Due to this, you will be excused from any classes that you might miss, as well as the exams."

"Even O.W.L.s?" Jack asked, his hopes rising. He'd never been all that good at tests, it would be a nice break to not have to do them.

"Technically, yes," Ombric translated for Gothi, who was drawing pictures with a dragon tooth tipped staff. Just what the school needed, more people who couldn't speak. Ombric continued, "Though since your eligibility for N.E.W.T. Level classes depends on your score, I must advise you to take them anyway. Now, where was I, oh yes, the rules. Now, part of the challenge is solving the problems on your own. You may not accept help from any students or teachers."

No challenge there, Jack thought. He'd been alone more times than he could count. While it would have been nice to get his friends to help, he was used to struggling alone.

"Now, if you is successful in first task, you will be finding information about second," North concluded. He looked around at the three students. "I think that's about it. Why not you head on up to bed?"

The three students looked at each other and walked out. Once they were out in the hallway, Jack tried to break the awkward silence.

"So … I guess we're going to be competing against each other?" Jack tried.

"It's not going to be much of a competition," Astrid said, looking him over with derision. Suddenly her eyes hardened, "Stay out of my way!"

Astrid turned and ran off.

"What's with her?" Jack said more to himself than to Hans.

"You don't know much about women, do you?" Hans said.

"Of course not. I'm only fifteen."

"I know we're supposed to be competitors, but just the same I'd like to be friends. Here's a little advice. Girls like her," he pointed towards the door Astrid left through, "they like to win. The best way to win them over is to let them think they've succeeded. Always go along with whatever crazy thing a girl says."

Jack didn't think that was particularly good advice. He got along just fine with Merida, despite disagreeing with her on nearly everything, but he didn't feel like challenging Hans' advice. Jack tried to change the subject.

"Do you think you're ready for the first challenge?" Jack asked.

"Of course," Hans said with confidence. "Whatever it is, I'm certain that I can handle it. I must win the tournament to impress the princess, after all."

Jack hadn't even thought of Rapunzel. Would she be cheering for him or Hans? And who would Hiccup be cheering for? Or Camicazi? Would they be mad at Jack if he made their preferred schools lose? At least Merida would still root for Jack. Jack waved goodbye to Hans and made his way down to the Slytherin dungeon. Who would the Slytherins cheer for? It was a well known fact that most of them hated him. But he was the only Hogwarts champion. Did they hate him enough to want another school to win?

"I told you," a voice said. Jack jumped and turned around. There was nothing but shadows. Jack knew who that meant.

"Pitch?" Jack questioned.

"Yessss," Pitch hissed. "I told you the tournament would only spread fear and hatred. It has hardly begun, and already you are terrified."

"I ... I am not!" Jack stammered. "Get out of here, or I'll call the Guardians."

"I'll leave," Pitch complied, "but your sister is about to have a very, very bad dream."

"No!" Jack protested.

"Too late. Next time, you would be wise to think of her before you attempt to give me orders."

Jack's steps faltered. He should have thought of Emma. How could he not think of her? Once more, Jack considered ditching school to make sure she was okay. But that was stupid. There was no way Jack could make it home before the nightmare took effect.

Jack was so preoccupied with thoughts of his sister, he actually forgot he was the Hogwarts champion... until he entered the Slytherin dungeon. The common room was filled with people. They all stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Jack stared back, unsure of their motives. Were they going to bully him because they thought a pureblood should have been chosen?

Finally, Iolanthe called out, "Let's hear it for Jack!"

The room exploded in cheers. Jack noticed a few people, such as Derek, held back, but most of the room went out for him. Jack didn't know what to make of it. He hadn't been this popular in Slytherin since the first day of his first year, before anyone knew he was muggleborn.

Jack went through the party in a daze. Everyone wanted to talk to him. To ask if he had a strategy, to encourage him to beat the Viking and the prince. Even Derek held his tongue, though Jack could tell he wanted to argue about the eligibility of muggleborns, he couldn't fight the rest of the house.

By the time Jack made it to bed, he was so tired out he'd completely forgotten his encounter with Pitch Black. Finally good dreams enveloped him, dreams of the glory of being a champion.

* * *

Merida sat with a bunch of Gryffindors around a table in their common room.

"We can't let that Viking brat win," Merida said.

"Speak for yourself, I don't want the Slytherin to win," Todd said.

"Yeah," Rose agreed. "It should have been a Gryffindor and you know it. Of all the houses, we're the best equipped to make it through."

"While I would love for one of us to have won," Merida said forcefully, "the Goblet of Fire didnae choose us. It's not just a random drawing. It's supposed to pick the best competitor. Which means, I hate to say it, that Jack must be more worthy than the lot of us. Do NOT tell him I said that."

The others around the table sighed. Merida changed her tactic.

"Look, I know it would have been more ideal for a Gryffindor to be the Hogwarts Champion, but he's still a _Hogwarts_ Champion. We should be rooting for him on that alone."

Slowly, the others nodded in agreement.

"So what can we do?" Jenet asked.

"We're going to help Jack win," Merida said. "It's our duty as Hogwarts students."

"How can we help?" Todd spat. "Isn't he more _worthy?"_

Merida scowled, "I'm not sure what we can do yet. But if anyone comes up with something good, I'll see that they get to use the prefect's bathroom."

"You can't give that away!" Todd protested.

"Just watch me," Merida said. She turned and stormed off, taking a brief stop by the window to look out over the forest. Somewhere down there, five dragons were sleeping soundly.

Merida quickly turned back towards her dorm room. She wished she was the champion. She'd wanted it more than anything she ever wanted before. A chance to prove herself as not just a silly princess, not a prize for others to compete for, but a real contender. And getting to fight Astrid head on? That would have been the icing on the cake. But if it couldn't be her, or a Gryffindor, she was glad it was Jack. At least he had a chance of winning. More, if she helped him.

And she would do just that. Merida sank into bed, dreaming about how she could help Jack win.

* * *

The morning after the champions were selected, Rapunzel tried to find her friends. First she tried at breakfast. Hogwarts was aglow with talk of the tournament, but none of her friends were there. Hiccup's absence was usual. Practically since the year started he'd been running off somewhere, more so once the other Vikings arrived. Rapunzel still didn't know why.

Jack's disappearance could also be attributed to being the champion. He probably couldn't sleep the night before with all the excitement, same with Hans. That just left Merida. Once Rapunzel finished eating her eggs, she set off up to the empty classroom, only to find it … well, empty.

Rapunzel stepped back into the hallway and bit her lip. Where was everyone?

Just then, a ghost floated by. Rapunzel heard a girl scream. She turned and ran in that direction. A girl, about her age, with dark curly hair was cowering in the corner.

"It's okay," Rapunzel reassured her. "The ghosts are nice."

"Th … Thanks," the girl said. Rapunzel offered her hand and helped the girl up.

"You're from one of the other schools?" Rapunzel guessed.

"Y … yes," the girl replied, still slightly shaking, "but I seem to have gotten lost."

Rapunzel smiled, "I'll help you. Where are you going?"

The girl pulled a paper out of her pocket and quickly examined it. Rapunzel tried to look at the paper, but before she could see what it said, the other girl shoved it into her pocket and said, "I was looking for the … the Herbology room?"

"You mean the greenhouse?" Rapunzel clarified.

"Yes," the girl agreed.

"Well, it's not up here on the seventh floor. Come on, I'll take you there."

Rapunzel led the girl back down the stairs and outside.

"Thanks," the girl said as they stepped out onto the lawn. "I got lost after the staircases started to move on me. And the pictures! They never seem to stay in place."

"Yeah, I remember getting lost a few times when I was new. At least it happened on the weekend, so you won't be late for class. What do you need in the greenhouse anyway?"

"Oh … uh … it's just a meeting place," the girl said. "One of my friends wanted to meet me there."

Rapunzel accepted the answer and led the girl down to the greenhouse. When they got within range, she heard the unmistakable twang of a bowstring, and an excited voice cheering. Rapunzel followed her ears and found Merida shooting arrows at the trees. Up in the trees, a girl with the most tangled blonde hair Rapunzel had ever seen was using a wand to levitate a target onto various trees. Every time Merida hit the target, the girl let out a whoop.

Rapunzel watched for a few minutes, until Merida used up all her arrows. After seeing her hit every target, Rapunzel and the lost girl clapped.

Merida went to retrieve her arrows and the wild looking girl dropped out of the tree. She took a sword off her hip and brandished it at the two newcomers.

"Who are you? What do you want? Are you spies?" the wild girl demanded. The lost girl squealed and ducked behind Rapunzel.

"It's cool, Camicazi," Merida said as she tucked her arrows back into her quiver. "Rapunzel, you remember Jack's friend … who hates ice elves?"

Merida raised her eyebrow in warning. Rapunzel took the hint.

"I don't believe we met formally before," Rapunzel said, holding out her hand. Camicazi put her sword away and grabbed Rapunzel's hand shaking it forcefully.

"Sorry if I was a bit harsh on you back when I was a Hogwarts student," Camicazi said. "House pride and all, you know. Who's this?"

"Oh, this is … actually I don't know," Rapunzel confessed.

"Heather," the girl said.

"Nice to meet you," Camicazi said. "Are you from Hogwarts or Beauxbatons?"

"Oh … um … you're from Drum-string?"

"Durmstrang," Camicazi corrected.

"Right. I'm from … the other one ... er, Beauxbatons."

"Just like Hans," Rapunzel exclaimed in excitement.

"Ugh, don't remind me about him," Merida said, pulling out a single arrow and taking aim. "I can't stand his slimy ways. I almost thought he was going to propose to me. Like I need more suitors."

"Men are yucky," Camicazi agreed. "That's why us Bog Burglers are all female."

"There's no men at all?" Merida questioned.

"Well, there are a couple. But not that many. And most of them spend their time off looting other islands, leaving us all alone to go adventuring."

"Can I move to your island?" Merida asked, a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

"Sure, so long as you're a Viking. My mom's the chief."

"Really?" Heather asked. "I bet you know all about dragons."

"I know how to kill them," Camicazi said.

"You … you do?" Heather stammered. "I … I … I thought they were too tough to kill."

"With a wand," Camicazi said, pulling out her wand and dangling it uselessly. "Dragons only respond to real, brute force. Like an axe, or a hammer. You ever need a dragon killing lesson, I can give you one that'll make Thor himself jealous."

Heather shook her head and took a step back. A strong gust of air blew Rapunzel's hair back towards the greenhouse.

"Hey, weren't you supposed to be meeting someone?"

"Oh, right … uh, see you later. Thanks!" Heather called as she ran away.

For a moment, the three students stared after her, but then Camicazi broke the silence by turning back to the trees.

"Hey, Merida, I think you missed a spot." Camicazi pointed to a knot in the tree. Merida smirked, took out an arrow, and fired.

* * *

Hiccup and the other Vikings sat on a log watching Astrid throw her axe at the trees.

"How long has she been doing this?" Hiccup asked.

"A couple hours," Fishlegs replied. It was starting to show on the trees. If Astrid kept going, she might cut the whole forest down.

"I dunno why she's so upset," Snotlout said, pouting. "She won. Over me."

"Like that was hard," Ruffnut said, making her twin snicker.

"Hey, Astrid?" Hiccup tried.

"What!" Astrid snapped, turning around so fast she almost knocked Hiccup off the log.

"A... are you going to tell us anything about the challenge?"

Astrid sighed, "They didn't give us much. Just the basic rules."

"Then ..." Fishlegs squeaked, "why are you so upset?"

Astrid hurled her axe at a faraway tree, "I had the displeasure of running into that Scottish brat by our dragons this morning."

Her axe stuck in the tree. Astrid went and pried it out.

"Okay, but how did Merida get you this upset?" Hiccup questioned.

"One, she was messing around with Stormfly. Can you please tell her to keep her hands off my dragon? Two, she reminded me that you and Camicazi are friends with the other champion. Are you sure you know where your loyalties lie?"

Astrid glared at Hiccup, a glare he hadn't felt until that moment right before she found out about Toothless.

"Hey!" Hiccup said, putting his hands up in surrender. "I'm all about supporting you. You're my girlfriend, and my tribe. But Hogwarts is my school and Jack is my friend. I thought I'd just stay out of this. Can't I cheer for both of you?"

Astrid frowned and threw her axe again. The twins and Snotlout were watching with excitement.

"We're not supposed to accept help from anyone," Astrid said, "but if you plan to cheat and help anyone, it'd better be me."

Hiccup sighed and left his friends, heading to Toothless. A short flight would make him feel better.

Toothless was sleeping when Hiccup arrived in the clearing, but his head picked up when Hiccup said his name. He jumped over to Hiccup. Hiccup scratched behind the spikes on Toothless's head. Toothless perked up. It had been a while since it was just the two of them.

"Wanna go for a ride, buddy?" Hiccup asked. Toothless licked him. Hiccup climbed on and locked his leg in place. Together they soared up into the sky.

Hiccup breathed in the air. It was so peaceful up here, Hiccup could close his eyes and imagine that the world was just him and Toothless. Wouldn't that be nice? He thought now that the war with dragons was over, maybe Berk could be peaceful for once. But no. The Vikings just couldn't get along with anyone. His dad sent letters warning him that they'd caught Berserker and Outcast spies. And now this whole thing with Astrid and Merida. And even he could admit that Merida wasn't making things better.

He didn't mind that she knew about Toothless. It was kind of fun to get to brag to her and Jack about the dragon. Training a dragon was the most awesome thing he'd ever done. It was nice to be respected for his actual accomplishments. But Merida did not have to be throwing insults at Vikings all the time. And Astrid didn't have to be insulting the Scots.

The two girls were so alike. Both competitive and strong, both brave and daring, both ready and willing to fight for what they believed in, to fight alongside him in a battle. Why couldn't they get along instead of fighting?

If only he could bring peace between the Vikings and the Scots. Maybe that was his next challenge? He only hoped it didn't come down to losing his other leg.

Toothless stretched out his wings. Hiccup leaned into the glide. That was a problem for another day. Now was about relaxation, and being with his best friend, just the two of them in the wind. Up here, life was perfect.

* * *

Hans looked out from the tent the Beauxbatons boys were staying in. Across the green, he could see the two Hogwarts princesses talking. He couldn't believe his luck.

When he signed up for the tournament, he hadn't expected to win. He merely wanted a chance to talk to Princess Merida again.

The rumors that reached the Southern Isles from the Scottish lands had been exaggerated to the point where he really thought she needed help. People told tales of the evil bear queen holding the princess captive, or tales of a wicked princess who enchanted animals.

As he watched all his brothers being set up by the royal matchmaker, completely ignoring a throwaway prince like Hans, he realized he would need to find his own place. Rescuing a princess from a bear-infested castle seemed like such a good idea at the time. Looking back, he really should have thought it out more.

Eager for a second chance at the hand of Princess Merida, he jumped at the opportunity to visit Hogwarts and apologize to her. He was still hoping that perhaps a marriage could work. But as soon as he arrived at Hogwarts and learned there was a second princess there, he changed his tactic. It wasn't hard to identify the second princess with her long hair. To meet her, all he had to do was sit next to her and come up with an excuse to start talking.

Princess Rapunzel was far more open to his advances than Princess Merida was. She was sweet and pretty. Marriage to her would not be the worst thing ever. Of course, there were a few problems. The young princess was not quite ready for marriage. And she spoke frequently of an over protective mother. Hans had yet to meet this 'Mother Gothel', but he could tell that she would try to block the union. The only question was, how to get rid of her without alienating Rapunzel?

And the fact that Rapunzel's friend was the Hogwarts champion? Well, that might lead to problems, too. Hans liked Jack. The boy seemed very fun. And when Rapunzel told him that Jack was being bullied … Hans knew what if felt like, to have the people who were supposed to be your family targeting you.

If it weren't for his brothers, he could have been the star of Beauxbatons. You would think that any prince attending a school would draw attention and admiration. But by the thirteenth prince, the novelty had worn off. The students who would be impressed by royalty had gotten used to the seemingly endless stream of them. Hans wasn't special.

What was worse was that his brothers' bullying behavior followed him to school. Even if he wasn't special by birth, he might have had a shot at standing out on his talents, or his charm, but his older siblings put him down so much that even now that he was a seventh year and had been the only Westergaard there for the past three years, he could feel their shadow. The cruel nicknames they gave him refused to die. People still insisted on calling him Unlucky.

At least he was the Champion now. None of his brothers were ever champions. Finally, after 17 years, he had the chance to prove himself. And getting a princess to marry him at the same time? He couldn't pass it up.

He had to have both the championship and the princess. That would really show his brothers. He would be the greatest of them all. He had to be. Hans closed the tent. Now, all he needed was a strategy for how to win.

* * *

 **A/N: I forgot to mention it in the last chapter, but Heather is from the Dreamworks: Dragons TV show.**

 **To Anonymous: Yes, I will finish this. I have the rough draft of this year written and I post every Sunday.**

 **To DemigodseaMeg16: There are only three champions, and three tasks.**

 **To the Guest who asked why I picked Jack:**

 **For in-story reasons: The cup picks the most qualified person. Jack is more qualified than Rapunzel because she's too timid and more qualified than Hiccup because in the Dragons Episode "Thawfest", Hiccup threw the game. He's about matched with Merida in terms of competitive spirit, but he's slightly more powerful.**

 **For out-of-story reasons: Jack is the main character of this series as a whole. Hiccup gets more emotional drama being between two champions rather than against one of them. If Rapunzel were the champion, the story would go in a completely different direction, probably with Gothel literally dragging Rapunzel away in chains, as in the end of Tangled, to protect her. Again, Merida is a close contender, but she would get no more emotional drama out of a being a champion than she has now. In fact, being a champion would give the antagonism she feels towards Astrid and Hans a healthy way out, thus lessening her emotional arc.**


	11. Gothel's Confession

The next few days were some of the best Jack ever had. He was suddenly Mister Popularity, at least with the Hogwarts students. Normally, all the Gryffindors besides Merida treated him coldly for being a Slytherin. But now that he was the Hogwarts Champion? People were practically lining up to shine his shoes … or they would be, if he wore shoes.

Even the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were nice to him, though he doubted they would keep it up once the tournament really began.

One morning, Jack and Rapunzel were sipping tea in Divination.

"Can you see what the first task is going to be?" Barnabas asked, leaning over Jack's cup.

"Can you?" Jack countered. Barnabas immediately gulped his tea down, then spewed out the hot liquid. Jack lifted his staff and froze the spit in mid air. Everyone laughed. It felt good to be popular.

Professor Vigor gave Jack a dirty look as the ice shattered on the floor. Jack and the other students turned back to their work.

"So, Jack," Rapunzel said, leaning over, "you really have no idea what the first task will be?"

"Nope. Not a clue. Does Hans know anything?"

"No," Rapunzel said, shaking her head. "He promised me that if he did learn anything, he'd share it with you."

"Why?" Jack asked, a bit bewildered. Sure, Hans was treating him nice, but helping Jack win the competition just seemed backwards.

"He said he came here to make friends, not to win," Rapunzel said with a shrug.

Before Jack could think of anything to say in response, the trap door of the attic opened and Gothel's head popped out. Rapunzel nearly dropped her tea cup.

"Mother?" she squealed. "What are you doing here?"

"Relax, my flower," Gothel said with a scowl, "I'm not here for you this time."

Gothel pointed to Jack, "This time I need him."

"Me?" Jack asked. Sure, he knew he and Gothel butted heads a few times, but he never figured she'd pick on him in front of a whole class.

"It's something for the Tournament," Gothel explained. _Oh_ , Jack thought, _that made a lot more sense_. Jack gathered up his books and staff and left with Gothel. As soon as they were clear of the classroom, Gothel turned to Jack.

"You have to help me!" she said, gripping his shoulders. Jack shoved her off and took a step back.

"You want my help?"

"It's that boy! The other champion," Gothel said.

"Prince Hans?"

"Yes!" Gothel hissed. "He's after my Rapunzel."

"Pft, you're just jealous 'cause Rapunzel's ditching you to be with him."

"It is not jealousy!" Gothel said passionately. "He wants something from her. I can sense it. He's acting just like I did before I took Rapunzel from the castle."

"Took ... You kidnapped her?" Jack said in shock. Instantly, Gothel realized what she'd said. She lunged at Jack, but he waved his staff, calling up a gust of wind to fly away.

Jack made it halfway down the hall before he heard Gothel yelling, "WAIT! Don't make me call the Boogyman to hunt your sister."

Jack froze in midair. He let the breezes cease and fell back to the ground.

"You wouldn't dare," Jack said, turning on her.

"I don't want to, but desperate times call for desperate measures," Gothel threatened. "I was hoping you could help me. I need your help. Rapunzel needs your help. Exposing me now will only hurt her. No one would believe you anyway. Let me explain."

Jack bit his lip. Finally, he came to Gothel.

"I'll listen," Jack said. Gothel sighed and motioned for him to go into a classroom. Jack entered, keeping his staff ready in case he had to call up another gust of wind.

"What I tell you will stay in this room. Promise me."

Jack hesitated. He'd had trouble with promises before. But he wanted to know, and she was right in that no one would believe him, unless he had the details to back up his claim. So he took out his wand and cast a binding charm, "I promise that whatever you tell me will not leave this room."

Gothel nodded, satisfied with the charm.

"I did kidnap her. But I didn't want to."

Jack raised an eyebrow and Gothel explained.

"I just wanted her hair. But I learned that once it's cut, it loses its power. Not only did it fail to make me young, but it made me even older than before I sang."

"How did you know her hair had that ability?" Jack questioned.

"Long before Rapunzel was born, a drop of sunlight fell to the earth. It became a magic healing flower. Pitch led me to it, with instructions to destroy the flower after I made myself young. He taught me the magic song. But I hid the flower and it stayed hidden until the queen got sick. They sent the soldiers out looking for a miracle, and they found my flower. The soldiers stole it from me! It was mine!"

"So you stole Rapunzel?" Jack said, aghast.

"I didn't want her. Not all of her. I was just going to take the hair. But when that didn't work, I had no choice but to take her!"

"But … the king and queen. They know she's here," Jack said. "They know you have her."

"Yes. I was not so successful at kidnapping. The palace guards found me. I covered myself pretty well. Pretended that I got the baby away from the real kidnapper. Then I pointed out the girl's magic hair to the king, and advised him to let her live with me in the tower, where she would be safe from others who might take her."

"Like you," Jack said, disgusted.

"I was only the first," Gothel defended herself. "It would have only been a matter of time before she accidentally revealed her power to the world without me to make her keep it quiet. The world is full of dark, cruel people. I only used her hair on myself. Can you imagine what would happen if someone more greedy took her? Someone who not only used the hair for themselves, but sold her to others? You were almost sold last year. Do you really want that to happen to Rapunzel?"

"It wouldn't happen. She's stronger than you think, and Merida, Hiccup and I will be there to protect her."

"You? You lot are the reason she's in danger so frequently. You who led her into the Dark Forest where she was almost killed by the Night Mares! You who almost got her turned into a Fearling. You who led her to the Frozen Forest where she could have been killed by ice elves. And you, who almost got her kidnapped by the Monkey King last year."

At first, Jack couldn't help but look down in shame. His friends had faced a lot of danger over the past few years, but Jack wasn't about to let Gothel off the hook. He glared at her.

"You were helping Pitch with some of those," Jack pointed out.

"I was, but only as a last resort," Gothel conceded. "I didn't want Rapunzel hurt, just scared enough that she would stop following you back into danger."

"So all the attacks? Framing me, all that was to scare her?"

"On my part, yes," Gothel admitted, "but not Pitch. He gets power from the fear, and he seeks to start a war. I was helping him only with the agreement that he would not harm Rapunzel. But that's all changed. He's no longer content with me keeping her hair under wraps."

"Why does he care about her hair?" Jack questioned.

"It's his Night Mares. Those black sand horses? Celestial Light destroys them, and it can heal the Fearlings. Her hair is the perfect weapon. First he wanted me to hide it, but now he's moved on to wanting to destroy it. He won't hesitate to harm her. That's why I need you. Please. Help me protect Rapunzel."

Jack sighed. He might regret this later. But he wanted to help Rapunzel. He could always turn Gothel in later.

"So … you said she was in trouble? Is it Pitch?"

"I don't know," Gothel confessed. "After she was kidnapped by the Monkey King we got in a fight. He stopped sharing his plans with me. I know he had a special interest in you, but he didn't explain it before we argued. If he had to choose between killing you and one of your friends, he would have picked you."

Jack didn't know if he should take that as a compliment or insult. Gothel apparently didn't notice his reaction, she kept going with her story.

"Ever since this competition started, I've notice that that rotten prince has taken a special interest in Rapunzel. I don't know what his angle is. Maybe Pitch told him of her hair and sent him to steal Rapunzel from me. Or maybe he learned of it on his own."

"Or maybe he just likes Rapunzel as a person," Jack inserted. Gothel scoffed.

"No, I know that look he gives her. It's the same possessive eye I gave my flower before the king stole it. He wants something from her. I'm sure of it."

Jack sighed, "Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

"You're in the competition, aren't you? It's the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on him. Figure out what he wants from Rapunzel."

Jack contemplated for a minute. Finally he said, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to get to know him a little better. But I'm not going to jump to conclusions. And I won't forget what you've done. I'll keep my eye one both of you, and if Rapunzel seems in danger from either side, I won't hesitate to protect her."

"Thank you!" Gothel said, hugging him, making Jack feel incredibly awkward.

Luckily, it didn't last long. She backed off and spun him around, "Now, you'd best get up to Ombric's office; the contestants are waiting."

Gothel strutted out of the room, leaving Jack alone. As he made his way to Ombric's office, he contemplated what Gothel had said. He couldn't believe that she had kidnapped Rapunzel. No wonder Rapunzel was always so suppressed. But Jack didn't know what he could do about it.

Even assuming he could find a way to get around the binding charm he'd just made, he wasn't sure what to do next.

He could tell Rapunzel, but last time they accused Mother Gothel of something Rapunzel didn't take it well. He could tell the king and queen … but would they listen to a pauper ice elf? He could tell the Guardians. But what could they do now that king had officially given Gothel the power to raise Rapunzel? Not to mention what would happen if Gothel felt desperate enough to send Pitch after his sister?

By the time he made it to Ombric's office, the other champions, the Guardians and the headmasters were already there, and Jack still had no clue what to do about Rapunzel. He decided to play it close to the vest, at least for now. He could always tell someone later.

"Finally, we can start," Astrid said. "What took you so long?"

"I …" Jack started, trying to think of something to cover his conversation with Gothel, "I came from the Divination classroom. We don't all get to come from classrooms that are super close."

Astrid's eyes narrowed, but before she could start something, the three headmasters of their schools turned to the students.

"It is time for the weighing of the wand ceremony," Ombric announced. "We must make sure your wands are in order."

He gestured to a door to the side. The old lady judge came hobbling out. Astrid looked up in surprise.

"Gothi? But aren't you a judge?" Astrid questioned.

"She is, but she knows more about wandlore than anyone save the Ollivanders. But Geraint Ollivander was too busy to come."

The old lady nodded and came over to them. She went to Hans first. He handed her his wand. She twirled it, ran her fingers over it, noting every bump. Finally she waved it, making a bunch of flowers pop out. She smiled. Sandman made some symbols. The two of them had a conversation all in nods and sand. Finally North laughed. Ombric smiled.

"She says, thirteen and a quarter inches, Larch, with a White River Monster spine core. Surprisingly springy. Seems to be in proper order," Ombric translated.

Gothi handed Hans his wand back and moved on to Astrid's. She performed the same examination, and Ombric explained,

"Cedar, Fourteen inches, Dragon Heart-string. Extremely Rigid."

"Dragon?" Jack questioned.

"We've been at war with dragons for the past three hundred years," Astrid said forcefully, clearly commanding Jack to drop the subject. "Dragon Heart-string is the most common core on Berk, though I think Hiccup's is unicorn hair."

Gothi nodded, confirming Astrid's assessment. She handed Astrid back her wand and moved on to Jack's.

Again, she examined and tested the wand, only when she waved it, nothing happened. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and handed it to Ombric.

"Is something wrong with my wand?" Jack asked.

Ombric ignored him and swished the wand, " _Avis_!"

The wand made a loud pop and a dozen birds flew out. Ombric smiled and handed Jack his wand back.

"Dogwood, eh? Not good for non-verbal magic. Gothi couldn't make it work without speaking. Other than that, your wand is fine. 15 inches, Phoenix feather core. Quite flexible. Well, I suppose that concludes our little ceremony, and it's almost dinner time, why don't you all …" Ombric trailed off as he noticed Gothi pointing towards Jack, or rather, towards Jack's staff.

"It's … it's just my broom," Jack said, not liking the awkward way everyone was staring at him. Gothi held out her hand. Jack handed over the staff. She excitedly examined it between glances with the Sandman, Ombric and North. Finally, she handed Jack's staff back.

Ombric looked at the staff curiously, "Yes … I did not realize."

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"I remember examining this a few years ago. I noticed that it had some unicorn hair in it."

"It did spend half a year broken in the Dark Forest," Jack said, "I guess a unicorn ran by it at some point or something."

"And it's oak …" Ombric continued, "Gothi speculates that this could possibly pass as a wand."

"Really?" Jack asked, a spark of hope coming back.

"Really?" Astrid said flatly. "He gets two wands?"

"No, of course not," Ombric said quickly, "but he could choose. One or the other."

Jack glanced at his staff. He hadn't wanted to give it up. Now he had the chance to keep it. But he had never tried to use it to cast spells, aside from a few ice blasts here and there. He didn't know what magic he would need to face whatever the challenge was. Would flight be more useful or would he need more spells? Jack looked at the other champions. They weren't half ice-elf. They didn't get to bring a broom in with them. He didn't want to look special.

"I'll stick with my real wand," Jack said. "Thanks."

Ombric nodded and Jack left with the other champions. Astrid ditched them pretty quickly, heading out to the forest, no doubt to be with her dragon. That left Jack and Hans alone.

"So … " Jack said as they walked, "you seem to be getting along with Rapunzel really well."

"Oh yes. She's quite delightful," Hans said. Jack didn't know how to proceed. Suspecting Gothel was easy. Gothel clearly oppressed Rapunzel, and now Jack knew why. But Hans appeared to be as nice as anybody.

Before Jack could think of a way to start the conversation again, they reached the Great Hall. Hans split off to sit at the Ravenclaw table. He sat right next to Rapunzel. She lit up when he spoke to her.

Jack joined the Slytherins at their table, but still kept his eye on Hans and Rapunzel. Was the suspicion just Gothel's fear of losing her magic hair? Or was there truth to it? Jack sighed. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on Hans. Anything, to keep Rapunzel safe.

* * *

Flynn woke up to the stiff morning air. They were on the move again. Slowly making their way back to Hogwarts. They could have been there in a day if they stole a stage coach, but the brothers insisted that they had time.

So they were slowly making their way across the English countryside back to Hogwarts. Flynn looked down at the Stabbington brothers. They were both still asleep.

Flynn got up and stretched out. A river ran nearby. As Flynn scooped up a handful of water, he heard something. Dropping the water back into the lake, he pulled out his stolen wand.

He gingerly made his way in the direction of the sound. It was a high pitched sound … almost a crying. Yes. That was it.

Flynn was still wary as he made his way to the noise. After a few yards, Flynn came to a clearing, the edge of a town. At first he didn't see anything. But he could still hear the crying.

"Lumos," Flynn whispered to his wand. It took a moment for the wand to light up. He hadn't won it in a duel. He could tell the wand wasn't bonded with him. Still, it was all he had, so it would have to do.

Even with the light of the wand, it still took Flynn a while to find the source of the crying. Finally, though, he spotted a wooden cage in the center of the town square. Flynn cupped his hand around the light as he went to the cage. As he neared the structure, he let out a little light, revealing … a rock.

A rock? Seriously? Flynn thought. Who keeps a rock in a cage? Even stranger, the crying continued, and Flynn could swear it was coming from the rock. There were a lot of strange objects in the magical world. A hopping pot and a Fountain of Fair Fortune were one thing, but a crying rock?

As Flynn debated whether or not to go back to the Stabbington brothers, the rock began to shake. It rolled into one side of the cage, then back to the other, back and forth for a few seconds before it finally opened up, revealing … a child. Or was it still a rock?

The little creature looked like a cross between a child and a gnome. It had grey skin and wore a tunic made of moss and a crystal necklace. It's sad eyes looked up at him.

Flynn might not know what kind of creature this was, but it was obviously in need of help. A few years ago, Flynn would have given anything to be free of the Stabbington brothers. Maybe he could give this little thing the help that he had so desperately wanted.

"I'll get you out," Flynn promised, "but you have to tell me what's going on."

The rock child pointed somewhere behind Flynn. Flynn turned sharply, finding himself face to face with a crossbow, and hoard of muggles with torches and pitchforks.

"Well, well," said the man with the crossbow, holding Flynn at point blank range. "Seems like our little bait worked. When we first found this troll, the missus wanted to turn him into soup, but I figured he'd be good for catching a wizard or two. We can always eat 'im later."

The troll child let out a wail. Flynn gripped his wand tighter, but was wary of making any sudden movements. Even if he could dodge the crossbow, which at this range was unlikely, it might hit the kid behind him. Even though the kid looked like a rock, he might not be as impervious as one.

Flynn flipped through every spell he could think of, trying to think of something to get him out of this situation.

The crowd began to shout, "To the gallows with him!"

But before they could advance, there was a large crash. A window of one of the buildings was broken, the house in flames. Everyone turned to look. Flynn seized the opportunity. He meant to cast a spell to blast the muggles, or at least the crossbow away, but since the wand wasn't properly bonded, it ended up blasting Flynn, and consequently the cage behind him, away.

"Incinerate," Flynn said quickly as he sprang up. A flame shot out of his wand, catching the wooden cage. After a moment, Flynn cast the Glacious charm, and the flame went out. He quickly kicked the cage, the weakened wood splintered and broke. The troll child hopped out and turned into a ball, rolling away. Flynn followed him, running into the woods, leaving the muggles, and the Stabbington brothers, far behind.

* * *

Merida sat with Jack and Camicazi in their club room two weeks before the first task.

"You really have no clue? At all?" Merida asked.

"Nope," Jack replied. "I guess that's the point."

"Astrid doesn't have a clue, either," Camicazi reported, "though you wouldn't think that from the way she's been training. She's really shining in weapons class. Yesterday, Fishlegs accidentally threw his axe in a way that made her trip. She not only recovered without dropping her axe, but she smashed his axe's handle into pieces."

"I sure hope the competition doesn't involve making us fight," Jack sighed. "I've only used axes to chop wood."

"At least you can lift one," Merida said encouragingly. "I doubt Hiccup could. At least, not before he- um, lost his leg."

Merida almost said 'before he trained a dragon,' but quickly realized that Camicazi was probably one of the other Viking tribes that the Hooligans were trying to keep their dragons' secret from. Luckily, Camicazi didn't seem to notice her hesitation.

"I have an axe," the younger girl said. "I'll get it and my sword, then we can practice."

Before either of them could stop her, Camicazi ran out the door. Jack sighed and hunched over.

"I'm sure you'll be a great champion," Merida said.

"It's not that," Jack said. "Camicazi still doesn't know about me. That's part of the reason I opted not to use my staff as a wand. What if she sees me performing ice elf magic?"

"I'm sure we can't really watch you," Merida said. "I mean, I know they said they were arranging benches and stuff for us to watch from, but I don't think any of the challenges will be all that visible to the spectators."

Jack sat up a little straighter, "How would you know?"

"In Divination, I wanted to help you win. I tried to look into my crystal ball to see your challenges."

"Is that allowed?" Jack asked. Merida shrugged.

"Anyway, it kept looking foggy, and at first I thought it was just … you know, because crystal balls are foggy. But then the professor walked by, and said it looked like it does under the lake. That could be one of the challenges."

"Or it could be that crystal balls are foggy," Jack said.

"Alright, fine. So my divination skills are not advanced. But there could be an underwater challenge, and if there is, us spectators would have no way of observing it. We'd just be staring at the surface of the water waiting to see who emerges. Sounds rather boring to me. The Highland games are much more interesting, even when I don't attempt to win my own hand."

"Oh yeah," Jack said, changing the subject. "How's the suitor problem going?"

"It's there, but not pressing. The boys are leaving me be, and Mum is keeping their dads off my back. By the way, I invited the lord's sons up to Hogwarts for the challenges. I figured you could use a little extra rooting you on, whether we can see what you're doing or not."

"The school's letting you do that?" Jack asked.

"Sure," Merida said. "They let them stay at Hogsmeade last year, and they're letting the Captain of the Guard of Corona march around. I figured three or five more people wouldn't harm anything."

"Three or five?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I figured since I was inviting the lord's sons, I should invite my mum. We've practically become best friends since I turned her into a bear. And if I invite my mum, I kinda have to invite my dad, too."

"What a great lesson. Turn your mom into a bear to get a best friend," Jack said. Merida smiled, glad that Jack wasn't too worried about the competition to stop ribbing her. Before she could come up with a snappy retort, Camicazi came back carrying a whole horde of weapons.

"Okay, let's practice," Camicazi said, dumping all the weapons on the ground. She picked up a sword and kicked the axe to Jack.

"I'm not supposed to accept help from anyone," Jack said, picking up the weapon.

"We're not helping you for the tournament," Merida said. "We're simply teaching you the kind of fighting they do over at Durmstrang. And anyway, it's not as if Astrid isn't letting Hiccup help her. This is only making it fair."

With a sigh, Jack stood and lifted the weapon, aiming it at the girl. Her eyes narrowed and a smile lit her face as she charged. As they fought, Merida called out various scenarios, such as:

"Okay, you enter the ring and find yourself facing a basilisk, what do you do?"

"I -" Jack dodged a swipe from Camicazi. "Hey, watch it. I use a stunning spell on the basilisk."

"And what if it bounces off?" Merida countered.

"I run away really fast."

"And concede the challenge to Astrid?" Merida asked.

"Okay … maybe I put it to sleep with a really boring story. I know, I'll tell him about the time you turned your mom into a bear-"

"The basilisk eats you," Merida said quickly, "but not until after you finish the story because it's such a good tale."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not."

At that point, Merida picked up a sword and joined the fight. They practiced until curfew. Merida left their club room certain that Jack had what it takes to win.

* * *

Rapunzel sat with Hans in the Infirmary. He was helping her work on rolling bandages.

"Mother says the Tournament is very dangerous," Rapunzel said. "We have to be prepared to tend any wounds that you or the other contestants get."

"The danger is worth it for you, my dear," Hans said, lifting her hand for a kiss. Rapunzel blushed and giggled, but pulled away when she saw Mother Gothel standing at the door. Gothel gave her a disapproving look and walked back to the room they shared.

Rapunzel sighed. Mother hadn't exactly forbidden her to spend time with Hans, which was good, since he seemed to be there at every turn, but it was clear that Gothel did not like her new crush.

"Is something wrong?" Hans asked.

"No, er, maybe. It's complicated," Rapunzel said. "Is something wrong with me?"

"No, of course not," Hans said reassuringly. "What could have given you that idea?"

"My mother … my fake mother, Gothel. She … she doesn't think I'm ready … for … well … anything … but especially for this." Rapunzel gestured to the two of them.

"You've never hung out with a boy before?" he questioned.

"Well, yes … Jack and Hiccup … but it was always the four of us, you know. Never one on one like this. And neither of them ever kissed my hand."

"Then they don't know how to treat you with proper respect," Hans said. "As for your mother, parents never get it right. I have twelve older brothers. All but the twins, and myself, are married or engaged, most with children on the way, yet still Mother insists on fussing over them, not thinking them ready to start a real life."

"So it's okay to be having … new feelings?" Rapunzel asked, her voice shaking a little.

"Perfectly normal," Hans reassured her. "Now, how many more bandages do we have to roll?"

Rapunzel looked down at their piles. She'd made at least thirty very neatly rolled rolls. Hans had five and they were all different shapes and sizes.

"This should cover it," Rapunzel said, putting them away, "Unless you know something about the challenge that I don't."

"Nothing," Hans said shaking his head. "I've been doing a lot of research on monsters, so I should be prepared for anything, though."

Rapunzel sighed, "I hope Jack is as prepared as you."

"I'll look out for him," Hans promised.

"Really?" Rapunzel asked, excitedly.

"Of course, my dear," he said gently. "Besides, it's not like the competition requires him being hurt or anything. I'm certain that I can win and help Jack … assuming we go in at the same time, at least. I don't know how it's going to work. But I want to win, for you."

Rapunzel blushed. No one had ever done anything brave to impress her before.

"I still have to root for Jack and Hogwarts, you know," Rapunzel said.

"I know, and I have to win for my school. But if I lose to your friend, I will consider it an honor to have lost to someone you feel worthy."

Rapunzel looked away, confused by her feelings. She didn't care who won. She was just lucky to have such good friends.

* * *

Hiccup zoomed across the sky on Toothless, the other dragon riders not far behind. Hiccup held out his hand and pointed down. One by one, the dragons dived down into the forest.

Hiccup led the exercise through the trees, then down over the river. As each dragon passed over the water, they each snatched a fish before landing back in the clearing.

One by one, they dismounted. Toothless shot a plasma blast at the fire pit the kids had built and they cooked their fish.

"You okay, Astrid?" Hiccup asked as they ate.

"Fine," Astrid snapped. "Let's do another run."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea," Hiccup said. "Your flying is nearly flawless. You and Stormfly make a great team. Not as great as me and Toothless, but close. But you can't bring Stormfly with you, remember. Even if you were allowed to, we can't let the rest of the world know we train dragons. It's too dangerous with people like Dagar the Derranged out there."

"Oh man, I loved him," Snotlout said. "Too bad he got expelled. Wouldn't it be fun if he was our champion?"

"No," Fishlegs said. "He's so mean."

"I know, that's what makes him awesome," Tuffnut said. Ruffnut nodded in agreement. Hiccup and Astrid ignored them.

"Hey, our exercises do more than just focus on our flying," Astrid said. "You think just anyone can walk on a Deadly Nadder's tail? The physical aspect could be useful. And what if the challenge involves dragons? You learned plenty of useful stuff from training with Toothless."

"Yeah, but we were fighting dragons," Hiccup pointed out. "You don't know what you're facing. I just think you should expand your skills."

"Hey, loser, layoff," Snotlout yelled. "Astrid's' not a stupid squib like you, she's been top of our class since day one."

"Thank you, Snotlout," Astrid said smiling at him.

"Any time, baby," Snotlout said, puckering his lips. Astrid rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Look, Jack's been training really hard," Hiccup tried. "I know he's been practicing both magic and combat."

"And how do I know you aren't on his side?" Astrid demanded. "You could be trying to sabotage me."

"I'm helping you aren't I?" Hiccup said. "I could be hanging out with Jack, helping my school and my friend win. But I'm not. I chose to spend this month with you, training with our dragons. I don't really care who wins, but I want to support you. You're my girl. And this is my tribe. I didn't get in Hufflepuff house for nothing. We're the house of the loyal, and I'm loyal to you. Now, I think you should at least give practicing some spells a try. Besides, Stormfly needs to rest."

Astrid looked at Stormfly, who was busy preening by some rocks. Finally Astrid turned back to Hiccup.

"Fine, let's duel."

For the rest of the day, the six teenagers practiced casting hexes, and jinxes at each other. Hiccup still wasn't quite as good as the others, but he was much better than he'd been. Maybe all he needed was the extra dose of confidence that came from having found his true calling in the world.

* * *

 **A/N: DemigodseaMeg16: You'll have to wait and see ;)  
**


	12. The First Task

After running for what felt like days, Flynn and the rock boy finally stopped to catch their breath. The little rock boy looked up at him in awe.

Flynn shivered. Figures he would have left his cloak at the campsite with the Stabbington brothers instead of taking it with him in the satchel.

"Here," the rock boy said, pulling the top part of his moss shirt off and draping it over Flynn. It was really too small to do much, but the gesture was nice.

"Are you sure, kid? You aren't cold?"

"Trolls don't get cold," the boy said. "Besides, you should see where I come from. It's freezing up there."

"So how'd you wind up down here?" Flynn asked as he started gathering sticks for a fire.

The boy looked away, rubbing his neck, "I … I was following a human. We're not supposed to leave the nest. That's what Grand Pabbie said. Rock trolls are supposed to stick together in the Valley of Living Rock. But sometimes humans visit us. I wanted to know what kind of nests humans live in, so I followed one. When I came upon the human village, I didn't think I'd have to hide. Rock trolls can disguise themselves pretty well."

As if to demonstrate, the boy rolled into a rock. After a moment, he came back out of it.

"But then some humans saw me so I tried to hide in rock form hoping they would think I was just a rock and leave me alone but I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was down here. I tried to make a run for it, but those other humans captured me and said they were going to use me to catch other magical creatures."

"Poor kid," Flynn said, ruffling his grassy hair. "I know a thing or two about being kidnapped. But don't worry, you're free now. You can go home."

Flynn got his fire going and started to look around. He was free now, too, he supposed. He managed to ditch the Stabbington brothers. But that left him with a big question of what to do next. For so long he'd wanted to steal the crown and tell the King and Queen of Corona about Pitch Black. But then he told Jack, so he no longer needed to do that. Then he'd wanted to hang out with the Stabbington brothers and figure out their plan. They were going to go after Hogwarts, but he still didn't know why. Just that they thought there was something valuable in the castle. At the time, he was going to go along with it, to find out more. But now he didn't need to. He was free. So what? Stealing was all he knew. He had no skills other than thievery.

Flynn huddled closer to the fire. The rock boy came over and sat next to him.

"So where are you heading?" Flynn asked.

"Wherever you are," rock boy said.

"I don't know," Flynn whispered, "but I bet my path is full of danger."

"Then maybe I can save you the way you saved me," rock boy said. "It's only fair. Besides, I really don't want to be alone again. Those humans can be monsters."

"Not all of them," Flynn said patting him on the back. He shivered again. It wasn't usually this cold in late November, not even in colder countries such as Arendelle. What gives?

* * *

The day of the tournament dawned bright and clear. The light even managed to peak through the cold lake, casting a green glow around the dungeons. Jack flipped through his wardrobe but he didn't have a lot of clothes. While he was making a little extra money as the Hogwarts groundskeeper, he sent it all to his mother or saved it for new required items. Even so, he couldn't get all the new stuff. He'd even had to skip the dress robe requirement. Hopefully, his regular robes would suffice for whatever they needed the dress robes for.

Jack finally settled on his ordinary white shirt and vest. He ran a quick comb through his hair and left the dorm. A crowd was already waiting for him in the Slytherin common room.

He smiled and all the girls sighed. Jack could get used to this. He hoped it didn't all go away at the end of the year.

As Jack made his way to the door, everyone wanted to shake his hand. All of them wished him luck in the battle to come and promised they'd cheer for him, even if he was a muggleborn half-elf. A little back-handed, but definitely the best he'd ever been treated by most of them.

"Do you know what you're facing?" Iolanthe asked.

"Nope," Jack said, wondering if his training was enough.

"I hope you're facing a threshal," she said. "I've always wanted to see one."

"Oh, you'll get your chance," Jack said, "whether or not they're a part of the competition. The school has a herd of them to pull carriages."

"I didn't see any carriages."

"First years come in a boat. But if you make it to the end of the year, I'm sure you'll get your chance. Er, as long as you've seen death, that is."

"Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to see them," the girl said.

Iolanthe had such hope in her eyes, Jack couldn't help but be reminded of his sister. He'd always wondered what it would be like to be at Hogwarts at the same time as Emma ... but of course it couldn't be. Jack was seven years older than her. They wouldn't be at the school at the same time, and she probably wouldn't be in Slytherin anyway ... and even that was only if she was a witch, which seemed more and more unlikely, especially now that he knew they had different fathers. While Jack wasn't one hundred percent sure Emma's father was a muggle, it seemed more than likely since he seemed to fear magic.

It took quite a while for Jack to get away from all of his fans. He must have spent a half hour trying to get out of the common room. Finally, though, he was able to pry himself away.

Just as he was about to step through the panel, a hand grabbed his shoulder. Jack turned around to face Derek. He hesitated. Derek wouldn't bully him in front off all the others who'd just come to Jack's side, would he?

Derek held out his hand. Jack tentatively took it.

"Listen ..." Derek said, "good luck out there."

"Really? You too?" Jack questioned, finding Derek's behavior out of character. Derek grimaced.

"I may not like you, but I suppose you're all we've got, so you'd better win, or else."

Derek squeezed his hand rather hard before letting go. Jack smiled. He would try his best.

Jack made his way across the cold grass, his feet causing frost to spill out. Luckily, it was a chilly day, so it was unlikely anyone would notice it as being unnatural.

By the time Jack reached the tent where the champions were supposed to assemble, his friends were already there. Rapunzel was holding hands with Hans, Hiccup with Astrid. Merida marched over to him.

"Where have you been?" she hissed.

"Relax, I'm not late," Jack said, as the castle bell chimed signaling the start of the tournament.

"It's been murder watchin' them," Merida said. "They should be loyal to you. We were friends first."

Jack chuckled, "Who cares who's hanging out with who? We're in it to have fun, right?"

"If you don't win, I swear I will kill you," Merida threatened. Jack smiled and turned to go into the champion's tent. Just before he pulled back the curtain, he turned to Merida and held out his staff.

"I'm not allowed to have two wands, but I don't want to just leave this here. Keep it safe for me, please."

Merida accepted the staff and went to the viewing stands with Hiccup and Rapunzel.

Jack turned and went into the tent. The three champions nervously looked at the game runners.

"Alright," Ombric said. "The first challenge is to find an object."

"What object?" Prince Hans asked.

"Well, that's part of the challenge," Ombric said. "There are three identical objects in the arena we designed. The crowd will be watching from afar as you try to find them. Once you are certain that you have the object, make haste to return, for the quicker you complete the challenge, the more points you are likely to get."

"Are there any rules we have to follow?" Astrid asked. "Anything that would disqualify us?"

"The only rule is that you may only enter with your wand. After that, anything goes," Ombric said. Ombric held them all in the tent until Bunny came over, sticking his head inside.

"Emily Jane's finished the arena," he announced, "and I've hidden the objects. It's all ready."

Ombric stepped out of the tent, the three teenagers followed him. Jack's jaw dropped in amazement. He was certain that the Hogwarts green had looked like it always did when he set foot inside the tent, but now, growing out of it was a mountain. A very tall, very steep mountain. Jack looked up at the top and realized the mountain was climbing higher into the sky with every second. All around the base, benches were lined up with students, gazing up at the new mountain. Jack and the other kids were led around it.

"The objects are somewhere up there," Ombric announced. "Your headmasters will lead you to your starting spot. From there, you are on your own."

Astrid followed North in one direction, Hans followed his headmistress in the other. Jack followed Ombric to the base of the mountain.

"Are you alright?" Ombric asked.

Jack nodded as the mountain pierced the winter clouds.

"I know you'll have a slight advantage on a mountain due to your heritage," Ombric whispered, "but don't think this is going to be easy. There is more than just the environment to watch out for. Do you have a plan?"

Jack looked up at the mountain. If he had his staff, he could just fly up. Without it, he'd have to make do with climbing. Jack wasn't the best climber, but he wasn't terrible at it. Of course, there could be an easier way to get up there.

An idea popped into his head. Jack glanced at the ground and smiled.

"Yeah … yeah, I think I know how to get up there," Jack said. Ombric nodded and left him. Jack pulled out his wand and bent down. He wasn't an expert in plants, but all the time spent with Mother Nature and being groundskeeper of Hogwarts gave him a basic knowledge. He recognized the plant at his feet.

" _Herbivicus_!" Jack cast. Instantly, the plant began to grow. Jack grabbed onto a leaf as soon as it was big enough to support his weight. The plant kept growing, and growing, becoming a towering beanstalk, nearly as tall as the mountain.

The rocky mountain stood a few yards away. Jack really wished he had his staff. With his staff, he could easily make the jump. Without it, he risked falling 500 feet.

Jack leaned toward the mountain, the beanstalk moved with him, until Jack's foot could reach the outcrop of stone. As soon as he got both feet on the mountain, he let go of the beanstalk and it snapped back into position. He doubted he could use it to get back. He'd have to find another way down, but he could worry about that later. Right now, he had a mysterious object to find.

* * *

Hiccup looked up at the mountain. Somewhere up there, his girlfriend and his best friend were wandering around looking for something. Ombric, North, and the Headmistress from Beauxbatons were shouting commentary in English, Norse and French. Hiccup understood all of them, but he didn't need their commentary. He could clearly see up the mountain with the help of his spy glass.

"Astrid made it to the top," Hiccup announced to the other Berkians.

"You should make more of those," Snotlout said. "We could sell them. We'd be rich."

"We don't need money," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes and handing the telescope to Fishlegs.

"Of course you'd say that!" Tuffnut said. "You found Hamish the Second's treasure, you live in the big chief's hut, Bucket and Mulch are always giving you free fish..."

"And I thought I was a squib for most of my life," Hiccup pointed out. "Come on guys. We don't even use money on Berk. We barter. And my dad works hard at keeping peace in Berk. Remember how terrible a job Gobber did when he took over? A few free fish and a slightly bigger hut is small change compared to the stress of managing the tribe."

Fishlegs passed the telescope to Ruffnut and turned to Hiccup.

"I wouldn't want the stress," Fishlegs said. "I don't how you do it. Knowing that one day you'll be in charge of everything."

Hiccup sighed as the twins started fighting over the telescope. He didn't know how he would do it either … or if he would do it. He still wasn't convinced his dad was planning to pass the responsibility of Berk on to him. Spitelout could still be pushing for Snotlout to be the next chief.

Sure, Hiccup proved his worth by training a dragon. But his magic still wasn't quite as good as everyone else's. He was still small and scrawny in comparison. He knew he was still technically the heir; that someday, Berk would probably pass to him. But he didn't want to think about that. It would be too depressing if the tribe passed to Snotlout. Hiccup didn't want to get his hopes up. He would focus on dragons, not on ruling Berk. Besides, he was only fifteen. No need to be thinking that far ahead anyway.

He turned his attention back to the mountain. He felt kind of bad for Astrid. She would have won the dragon training challenge if he hadn't befriended Toothless. Not that he wished she'd won the honor of killing Hookfang, but she wanted to win more than he did. She trained for it her whole life. And then he came in and changed the rules.

Instead of going on to be the best dragon killer on Berk, Astrid had to settle for being the second best dragon trainer. And now, he couldn't even put his whole heart behind her.

Since the other Vikings wouldn't leave him alone, he'd had to watch Astrid's progress, but he was a bit worried about Jack, too. Jack should be fine in a mountain setting, but Hiccup knew he was worried about being discovered as an ice elf. That was part of the reason Hiccup opted to stay with the Vikings. If he was the one in charge of commentary, should Jack reveal his powers during a challenge, he could spin it so it was less damaging. Hiccup doubted the Vikings would hate him as much as they claimed, but still, why take chances?

* * *

As Jack wandered over the mountain, wondering what he was supposed to be finding, he noticed feathery white snowflakes starting to fall. He couldn't tell if it was natural, or if he was causing it, or maybe Mother Nature was helping to arrange the conditions for the game.

He sincerely hoped he wasn't causing it. While the snow didn't bother him, it probably affected the other two contestants. They would already hate him if he won, he didn't want them to hate him for making their task more dangerous.

Jack brushed the snow with his foot. He hoped he hadn't passed whatever he was supposed to be finding on the beanstalk ride up the mountain.

He heard a low rumble. Jack turned slowly, coming face to face with a giant mountain troll wearing a loincloth and vest. Jack held his wand up defensively, trembling slightly. What spells did he know to fight off a troll?

"Uh … hi?" Jack tried. The troll swung his club at Jack. Jack leapt backwards. The troll stupidly stared at where he had been. Jack took advantage of the momentary lapse to turn and run, ducking behind a rock. If there was a troll here, the treasure he was supposed to be finding was probably here. Jack turned from behind the rock, casting a stunning spell. It briefly worked. Jack darted past the troll, using the slippery snow to slide under its club just before the troll regained his senses. Jack put his hand on the ground, freezing the snow into ice. The troll turned towards him and slipped on the new ice. A flash of color caught Jack's eye. An Easter egg. He ran to it but before he could get there, he heard a pained grunt.

Jack looked back at the mountain troll. The troll had slid down the ice and was now hanging off a ledge on the mountain. If his club hadn't been caught on a tree, he would have fallen already. Jack knew what the task was. He knew he should ignore the monster. He thought he heard muffled cheering from the ground … he supposed one of the other contestants had just defeated their troll, or whatever else they had to face.

But then Jack looked at the troll. Instead of seeing an evil monster who tried to kill him, he saw a lost creature … It couldn't help that it was a troll, just as Jack couldn't help being an ice elf.

" _Wingardiam Leviosa_!" Jack cast on the club. He knew he was giving up his chance for winning. But this was the right thing to do. He helped the mountain troll back up the mountain, though he set him down out of striking distance.

Before the troll could decide to attack him, Jack picked up the egg and tucked it under his arm, preparing to run.

The troll made a mournful grunt. Jack turned to it. The troll took a flower out of his vest and laid it on the ground before turning and walking off the other way. Jack picked up the flower. Immediately, the petals hardened into jewels, creating the most beautiful jeweled flower Jack had ever seen. Okay, technically it was the only jeweled flower he'd ever seen, but it was still pretty. He wondered if he'd get to keep it after the competition. His mother didn't have any jewelry besides the icicle necklace that Jack's real father had given her.

Jack carefully tucked the flower into one of the buttonholes on his vest and then looked down. The mountain was very steep, and Jack was without his staff... but he still had snow.

* * *

"What's going on?" Young MacGuffin asked.

"Listen to the announcers," Merida said, exasperated.

"I don't get the magic mumbo jumbo," Wee Dingwall said. "They keep spouting nonsense words."

"If you didn't think you'd get it, why'd you come?" Merida asked, as Ombric announced that Hans had recovered his egg and was on his way down.

"Because you invited us, Princess."

"Ugh, do not call me that. And I only invited you because I thought you were friends with Jack." Merida leaned back in her seat. She'd been hoping her mum would come. Dealing with the lords' sons was always easier when she had someone to help moderate. But no. The king and queen were too busy dealing with vigilante muggles to come watch Jack compete. The most she got was a 'maybe next time' letter.

"I suppose we are friends with him," Young Macintosh said, "but we still came to be with you more than to watch a wizard climbing a mountain."

Someone on the other side of the arena screamed. Merida looked to the crowd, and spotted Rapunzel. She held a round object to her eye. Merida recognized it as the gift Hiccup had given her for her twelfth birthday.

"I'll be right back," Merida said.

She wove through the crowd of cheering Hogwarts students. She couldn't even hear the announcers over the cheering. Finally, she found Rapunzel sitting in a cluster of Ravenclaws. Rapunzel was explaining what was going on to her classmates.

"Jack's pulled off a piece of bark …" she announced.

"Hey," Merida said. Rapunzel looked away from the mountain. "I'm surprised you're watching Jack."

"Of course I am," Rapunzel said. "Hans is nice. But even he knows that I support Jack. I want Hogwarts to win. Go Hogwarts!"

Rapunzel twirled her wand and blue sparks came out. The other Ravenclaws followed suit.

"Oh," Merida said, her plan of attack falling apart. She had planned to get Rapunzel to give her the telescope by accusing her of being a traitor to Hogwarts, now she had to come up with a new strategy.

The Beauxbatons students let out a cheer, and the announcers announced that Prince Hans had landed.

As Merida flipped through various ideas to convince Rapunzel, some of the Hogwarts students started to scream. In an instant, Rapunzel had her telescope up, searching the mountain.

"It's Jack!" Rapunzel shrieked, "He … he's ..."

Rapunzel couldn't get the sentence out. Merida reached for the telescope; Rapunzel let it go with no protest. It took Merida a minute of searching to find Jack, but eventually she spotted him. He was going fast, but he wasn't quite flying. He was sitting on a piece of bark, sliding down the mountain on a makeshift sled.

Merida handed the telescope back as Jack landed. He leapt off of the sled into a triumphant pose. All the Hogwarts students jumped up, hopping up and down in cheers.

"He won! He won! He won!" Rapunzel screamed, dancing in her seat.

It wasn't quite true, Merida thought as she walked back to where the lords' sons were sitting. The scores hadn't been announced yet, but Jack wasn't the first one down.

Jack was ushered by Sandman out of the arena to the nurse's tent. Merida signaled to the lords' sons. They all got up and followed Jack. He came out of the tent after a few minutes.

He didn't look any worse for wear.

"Are you okay?" Merida asked. "It looked like you did great."

"Oh, sure. Ombric said that everyone has to be checked, you know, just in case. But I'm fine. Hardly a scratch."

"Oh, you were brilliant. At least, if we could have seen you, it would have been brilliant. I loved how you got down."

Jack's face flushed, "Yeah, I figured that one out from playing with my sister."

"Come on, they're going to be putting the scores up," Merida said, taking Jack's hand. She led him back to the arena. A shadow was playing out on the ground. Merida looked up and saw the moon shining down. Of course, the Man in the Moon was showing everyone what happened so the judges could make their final decisions.

Merida and Jack watched as the shadow version of Hans heroically stormed the mountain, using a bouncing spell to jump from ledge to ledge. When faced with a mountain troll, he summoned a sword and and shattered the monster's club, rolling under it before it could comprehend what was happening, getting the egg before bouncing back down.

The next shadow play featured Astrid. She took longer climbing up the mountain, because she actually climbed. She had no beanstalk or jumping spell. She made it up on muscle alone. Watching Astrid climb the mountain, Merida could see herself climbing the Firefalls. If Merida wasn't dead set on hating Astrid, she might actually like her.

After Astrid found her troll, she transfigured his club into a bird, which promptly started to attack the troll. While he was distracted, Astrid got under the troll and took her egg. She then started climbing down the mountain, cradling her egg.

Finally, the shadows played out Jack's sequence.

"What did ya save him for?" Merida whispered. "You could have been first down."

"Hey, I did not enter this thing to kill," Jack whispered back. "Besides, he gave me a special prize. Tell you later."

Jack quieted as the judges put up the scores. Hans got the best marks, probably for being the fastest. Jack wasn't too far behind though. The Guardians on the judges panel all gave him high marks. Astrid, much to Merida's displeasure, was only four points shy of Jack's score.

"You have to step it up," Merida said. "Next time, you need to be the fastest. Forget saving the monster."

"Hey, relax," Jack said, taking a deep, calming breath, as if to show her how to calm down. Merida wasn't buying it.

Jack put his hand on her shoulder. "This is just a game. It would be great to have the glory of winning and everything, but let's not lose our heads. I'm doing this for one reason, and one reason only. So the Hogwarts students, and all the students, the lords' sons … everyone, can have fun watching the sport. That's what it's all about, right? The fun?"

After a moment Merida sighed. Jack smiled before running off to party with the Slytherins in their dorm. Merida turned back to the lords' sons. Now that the game was over, they would be heading back home … but that didn't mean the four of them couldn't come up with a training regime for Jack first. Jack might not care about winning, but Merida was bound and determined to make him the victor.

* * *

 **A/N: To Guestz: As you've probably guessed by now, I am not going to be using the tasks from the HP books. Much as I would have liked Jack to face a dragon, it wouldn't work with my story being a prequel to the HP series, since, if any of the tasks were used before, Hermione would have figured it out and told Harry how to get past the challenge.**


	13. The Dating Scene

A few days after the first task, Hiccup led the Viking teens out into the brisk December wind. The snow crunched under his metal foot.

"It's freezing," Ruffnut complained.

"Yeah," Tuffnut said. "I can't even feel my face."

Ruffnut punched him in the face. Tuffnut grinned. Hiccup rolled his eyes as they entered the forest. The dragons, being able to breathe fire, should be warm enough, but Hiccup wanted to check up on them anyway.

As they climbed over a snowy branch, Hiccup noticed footsteps in the snow.

"Hey!" he called, holding out his hand to stop the others from stepping on the footprints.

"What are we looking at?" Tuffnut asked.

"Is it just me or are these tracks leading towards our dragons?" Hiccup asked.

"Probably that lousy friend of yours," Astrid grumbled.

"Astrid, stop," Hiccup said. "Merida isn't as bad as you make her out to be."

"Hey, she insulted Vikings."

"After you insulted Scots," Hiccup pointed out. "I admit, I've had my problems with her views on certain issues, too. But she's right about one thing. She did pay attention to me before I got Toothless."

Astrid looked down at her feet. Hiccup didn't like reminding her, or the others, about the way he'd been treated. It was normal for Vikings to cast out the runts. He knew that. The fact that they tolerated his weakness in their tribe at all was a big step forward for Berk. Besides. he'd gotten over how they treated him. He wanted to just move on with his new life, his new friends, and his dragon.

Hiccup, eager to get off the subject, turned his attention back to the tracks, "These footprints are too small to be Merida's. I'd say they're a first year's."

The group of six followed the tracks deep into the woods. When they reached the river, the footprints veered off in a different direction from the dragons. Hiccup decided to follow the human footprints. The others followed him.

As Hiccup went deeper into the woods, he started to worry about a trick. He and his friends had been lost in the woods their first year. Rapunzel had been lured in with shadows. They'd been attacked by the black sand horses. He hadn't seen the horses in quite a while, and he never worried about them with Toothless close by, but he did worry about his own magical prowess. He didn't have magic glowing hair to keep them at bay.

"Do you guys know some combat spells?" Hiccup asked.

"Sure," Fishlegs said.

"Of course," Astrid said.

"We have a whole class on it," Snotlout said.

"Good," Hiccup said. "Have your wands out."

Astrid and Fishlegs pulled out their wands. Astrid held hers with confidence. Fishlegs shook and clasped his with both hands. Snotlout twirled his wand and used it to pick at his ear. The twins took turns hitting each other with their wands.

A branch cracked nearby. Hiccup held out his wand as he approached, worried about what he might find. He stepped into the clearing, wand raised and ready to strike. What was in the clearing was not a monster, it was a little girl.

As Hiccup suspected, the girl looked to be a first year. He lowered his wand. The others followed his lead.

"Are you alright? Are you lost?" he asked.

"No. Why would you think that?" the girl asked, cocking her head.

"Because you're alone. In the middle of the dark scary woods. In the middle of the night. During a snowstorm," Tuffnut said, deadpan.

"Guys ... when you put it that way, maybe we shouldn't be out here either," Fishlegs said.

"We're not alone," Snotlout pointed out.

"Anyway," Hiccup said, trying to change the subject before the girl asked them about why they were in the woods in the middle of the night, "why are you out here?"

The girl shrugged, "I was looking for thestrals."

"Thestrals?"

"Yeah. Jack Frost said they were out here. He said the school has a whole herd of them. Since he's an ice elf, I figured he knew about these things."

"He's a what?!" Astrid exclaimed. "Hiccup, did you know?"

"Everyone at school knows," the girl said.

"Er, yes, I knew. And I'll tell you all about it. But first, I think this kid should go back to the school. She won't be able to see the thestrals anyway, unless she's seen death. And anyway, you don't have to look for them. They'll pull the carriages that take you home and to school next year. Now, get back to the castle before anyone knows you're missing."

The girl reluctantly left.

Astrid turned sharply to Hiccup.

"How could you not have told me I was fighting an ice elf?" she demanded.

"Maybe because I thought you'd react like this?" Hiccup said defensively. "Look. I don't like keeping secrets from you, but we are Vikings. Not exactly the most tolerant group, you know."

Astrid turned away from him and started walking back to the dragon nest. The others followed her. Hiccup ran to catch up.

"Hey! Don't leave it there!" The others didn't stop, but Hiccup kept following them. "Look, Jack's been worried for quite some time about people attacking him. He's gotten letters. Camicazi wants to kill all ice elves. We were just worried you might react in the same way. All of you. I was just trying to protect him."

"So you do want him to win."

"NO!" Hiccup yelled. "I mean, I don't care. I'm fine with helping you win. I'm not fine with you trying to kill him. Jack is a good person, even if he is half ice elf."

"Like dragons, elves are often misunderstood," Fishlegs said.

"Don't do that either," Hiccup said. "You don't need to treat him like an animal. Jack's just as human as you and me."

"Yeah, right. He wasn't even bothered by the cold of that mountain, I'll bet," Astrid said as they reached the dragon nest.

"You weren't either," Hiccup pointed out.

"Yeah, but only because I've trained on Berk."

"So you have an advantage because of where you were born, just as Jack has an advantage because of who his father is. And I'll bet Hans has some advantages due to his heritage, too. Look, you and Jack have vastly different ideas when it comes to how to accomplish the tasks. I'm sure you'll beat him in the next one."

"I'd better," Astrid said. "We're going to train until I beat them! They said there was some clue in the Easter egg, but until I figure out how to open it, I'm gonna focus on the more physical aspects of training."

Hiccup sighed as Astrid started laying out her plan of attack. It would be nice if she won, but a part of him wanted Jack and Hogwarts to win. Despite being the son of the chief, not a lot of glory fell upon Hiccup. He wished, just once, he was on the winning team. Though if he were competing against Astrid, he didn't suppose she'd even talk to him.

As the group mounted their dragons to fly to the training ground, Hiccup glanced back at the school. A few days ago, their professors had announced that there would be a Yule Ball around Snoggletog. Hiccup wanted more than anything to go with Astrid. But with all her focus on training, he hadn't gotten a chance to ask her. He hoped he could work up the nerve soon … before someone like Snotlout got her.

* * *

Rapunzel sat by the fire of the empty classroom, stitching a warm winter's cloak for Pascal. She'd already made a nest for him up here in the classroom, which was good, because for the last few weeks, it'd been freezing.

Jack swore he wasn't the cause. Rapunzel believed him. But it was still frigid. Too cold for a cold-blooded chameleon.

Rapunzel fitted the cloak over Pascal to test the length. The little critter chirped in response. Rapunzel sighed. It was lonely up here today. Hiccup was off somewhere with the other Vikings. Prince Hans had a seventh year level class. Jack was probably off training somewhere, and Merida hadn't really been communicative since Rapunzel started to hang out with Hans. Maybe Mother Gothel was right. Maybe Hans was a bad influence. Almost as quickly as she thought it, she dismissed the thought. Hiccup had been distant since before the others arrived. She supposed it was his leg. Jack and Merida had attempted to find out, but she supposed they'd been unsuccessful, since neither one bothered to tell her.

As Rapunzel started hemming the cloak, the door opened and Merida came in.

"Mum said she sent you a letter. An invitation for tea." Merida said, looking down at her feet.

"I received it. But I didn't think you wanted me to come to the lessons anymore," Rapunzel said.

"Look … I'm sorry," Merida said. "I just really, really want Jack and Hogwarts to win."

"Me, too," Rapunzel assured her, putting away her sewing. "But the point of the tournament is to encourage cross-school friendship."

"And I don't trust Prince Hans."

"He seems nice enough to me," Rapunzel said. "He even asked me to the Yule Ball."

Merida rolled her eyes, "Better you than me. But really, Rapunzel … watch out for him. Now … do you want to come to tea with Mum and me or not?"

Rapunzel nodded, putting Pascal on her shoulder and following Merida up to Ombric's office so the girls could take the Floo to Castle DunBroch.

The Scottish castle was cold and drafty. Queen Elinor greeted them when they stepped out.

"Hello girls," she said politely. "I'll be right with you, I've just got to check on the boys first."

"Oh, how old are they now?" Rapunzel asked.

"They'll be turning four soon," Merida said. "Little rascals."

"Aye," the queen said. "A bit more of a handful than Merida ever was. Especially since we're a bit lacking in the staff. It's been murder findin' muggles willin' to work with three baby wizards."

"Why not just call for wizards?" Rapunzel asked.

"Can't seem to find 'em," Queen Elinor said. "No one's replied to the posting. Anyway, the boys are my responsibility. Why don't you girls go set the table."

Merida led the way to the small room they used for tea. Rapunzel had been here before when attending lessons with the queen. She took up her usual seat on a small stool. The queen arrived shortly after and joined them.

"Sorry I couldn't make it to your competition, dear. Maybe next time. So … how's school?"

"Oh, it's great," Merida said, taking a keet, "but Jack isn't winning yet. He got a special prize, though."

"He did?" Rapunzel asked. Hans hadn't said anything about a special prize.

"Aye. He did. But unless you swear not to tell Hans, I won't tell you what it is."

"Who is Hans?" Queen Elinor asked.

Rapunzel blushed, "He … He's this prince. He's a wizard."

"He's the guy who stormed our castle," Merida added.

"You never told me he stormed your castle," Rapunzel said. Suddenly, Merida's suspicions of him made a lot more sense.

"So this boy, he's taken a fancy to you," Queen Elinor said. Rapunzel nodded. Then she decided to be brave.

"You know a lot about all this stuff … Merida and my mother don't think he's a good influence. Do you think I should be wary?"

"You say this boy is a prince. Of which kingdom?"

"The Southern Isles," Rapunzel said.

Queen Elinor looked thoughtful for a minute. Finally she said, "The Southern Isles is a strong kingdom. The royal family is very large and they've made alliances through marriage with many of the surrounding kingdoms. It is possible the boy is pursuing an alliance with Corona through you, though I think it's unlikely."

"Why would it be unlikely?" Merida asked.

"Because alliances through marriage are very rarely set up through the actual couple to be wedded. Alliances are usually set up by the strategists, or in a small kingdom like ours, the current rulers. Merida may have gotten away with breaking tradition, but I find it unlikely that a prince of the Southern Isles could do the same. Of course, he may already have a betrothed and is simply having fun, or the court may not feel the need for further alliances, in which case he is free to do as he likes."

"Wait! Slow down," Rapunzel said, "He's just taking me to a dance. No one said anything about marriage."

"As a princess, the pressure to marry will always be present," the queen said. "He may not be interested in any more than the dance, but you should be aware that most royal courtships are attempts at alliances. And alliances are strongest when marriage is involved."

"So … are you saying he is using me? Or he isn't?" Rapunzel asked.

"It is difficult to tell," the queen said. "I fear this is one of the things you must trust your own judgement on. But if you return his affections and it gets serious, remember, you should tell your parents about it, and ensure they don't have another suitor lined up for you."

"I highly doubt it," Rapunzel mumbled. "I mean, who would want to be betrothed to the lost princess. Aside from the wizard community and my friends, everyone thinks I've been kidnapped."

"Oh, that's right," Queen Elinor said, "but still, if you should move forward with this boy, be sure to get your parents' blessing. And Merida, you don't have to like the new prince, but at least attempt to be nice. As I said, the Southern Isles have a lot of alliances. Even with the clans united, we'd not fare well in a war with them. If -"

Queen Elinor stopped talking as a maid brought in a tray with a letter on it. The letter had an official looking seal. The queen picked it up and read it. Her face fell as she read each line.

"Girls …" she said, her voice shaking, "I … I think it's best you go. Time to practice writing condolence letters."

* * *

Jack Frost sat alone in his room. Everyone was being nice to him. This was … boring. He couldn't even pull a good prank. No one wanted to laugh with him, they all wanted him to train, or to hear his plan for the next challenge. All this despite having not figured out how to open the magic egg, which was said to contain a clue.

And when it came to the girls … the girls were impossible. Girls had been acting squirrely around him all summer … but with this Yule Ball coming up, they were going nuts. All the Champions were expected to have dates, and to start the dance. The problem was … Jack had never danced before. At least, not a ballroom type of dance. The closest he'd come was goofing off with his sister.

Jack didn't mind the prospect of dancing in front of the crowd. It actually sounded a little fun. But he didn't have a clue who to ask. Much as the Slytherin girls were being nice to him now … they'd been all jerky to him before. While he was willing to forgive them, he wasn't ready to go out on dates with them or anything. Camicazi was nice too, but what if he accidentally froze her punch or something? She might try to kill him on the spot. That left Merida and Rapunzel. Both good choices. They were both pretty and nice, even if Jack's relationship with Merida had started off a little rocky. Jack made up his mind to ask one of them.

He hopped off his bed and started to go out the door weaving through and deflecting all the Slytherin girls without directly inviting them to the ball or rejecting them.

Moving throughout Hogwarts it was much the same. Jack found himself clinging to the secret passages as the girls from other houses started stalking him. It seemed that everyone wanted to go out with a Champion.

Finally, though, he made it to the top floor and went straight to the club room. Through the door, Jack could hear sobs. Quickly, he opened the door and found Rapunzel in tears, Merida at her side, consoling her … even Prince Hans was there, his arm wrapped around Rapunzel. Wait, Merida and Hans in the same room? Something was not right.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"Oh," Rapunzel sniffled, "We … we just got terrible news …"

Rapunzel broke down into tears again. Merida picked up where she left off, "We were visiting me Mum when Mum got a letter. More of an official announcement. The King and Queen of Arendelle were supposed to arrive in Corona a few weeks ago for a diplomatic meeting … they never showed."

"Wreckage from a royal boat washed up on the shores of the Southern Isles," Prince Hans added. "With a heavy heart … we must assume the King and Queen are … well … dead."

Rapunzel burst into tears again. After a minute she calmed down, "The Queen of Arendelle was my Father's sister. Though I never met any of the family … neither the king or queen or their two daughters."

"Daughters?" Hans said, raising an eyebrow. The gesture passed for only a second, but it was enough to set alarm bells off in Jack's head. Maybe Gothel was right about him. Jack renewed his vow to keep a close eye on him.

For now, though, he could see that Rapunzel was in need of the consoling gestures. Prince Hans, Princess Merida, and Princess Rapunzel could all share the loss of a royal family member in a way that Jack could not.

He abandoned all thoughts of inviting either girl to the dance, at least not while they were upset over this. Reluctantly, he went back down to the Slytherin dungeon. Maybe he could figure out how to open the egg.

Before he got to his dorm room, Professor Emily Jane came out of her office.

"Jack, a word?" Jack turned to her as she beckoned him into her office. Jack followed her without question.

"Am I in trouble?" Jack asked.

Emily Jane shook her head, "No, not at all … you've done wonderfully. I haven't even had to discipline Derek for abusing his power. That's a relief. I hate getting involved in childish squabbles."

"I think that's more to do with the tournament than with me," Jack pointed out.

"That may be … but I don't really care. As long as I can spend my free time sorting out this horrid winter instead of sorting out you children."

"Wait, you mean you aren't causing this storm?" Jack questioned, glancing out the window at the frozen solid lake.

"No. The Guardians did ask for my help in arranging some of the challenges this year, but I have never caused a blizzard so bad … recently," Emily Jane said. "I do think we know what's behind it … but it's so hard to stop."

"What's behind it?" Jack questioned.

"You and I are not the only ones who can control weather you know," Emily Jane said. "I did not think the others were powerful enough to do this … but I have been wrong before. We believe another ice maker is having an emotional reaction to something. We don't know who -or what- but hopefully the other ice maker will calm down soon. But that's my problem. Not yours. Your problem is much simpler. I just want to make sure you can dance."

"I'm sure I can wing it," Jack said. "Opportunities to attend balls don't come often to Burgess."

"I figured. But that's why I've called you here. From this day forward, you shall have a new lesson, in place of your groundskeeper duties. You will learn to dance. Derek will be your instructor."

Jack groaned, but Emily Jane made it clear that this was her final word. Forget opening the egg. This was the worst challenge yet.

* * *

The week after Merida received the horrible news about Arendelle, things seemed to calm down. She hadn't known anything about the Arendelle leaders. Aside from a few treaties and trade agreements, Scotland was a bit too far to care about the Arendelle politics. And unlike Rapunzel, Merida was pretty sure she wasn't related to the ruling family. After all, her father was the first king of Scotland. They had a better chance of being related to Hiccup's Viking tribe than to a bunch of stuffy royals in another kingdom.

Merida skipped down High Street in Hogsmeade. A lot of people were running around, trying to buy the perfect accessories for the ball. Merida rolled her eyes at them. She did enjoy wearing dresses, but she would never be so obsessed with making herself look pretty that she wasted the last Hogsmeade visit before the holidays.

Merida shivered as the cold snow fell upon her, but she resisted the urge to duck inside a building. She was sick of being stuck inside, and unlike past years when she got to go home for Christmas and run free around castle DunBroch, this year she and most of the others were going to be staying at Hogwarts for the ball.

Merida would never admit it to her mother, but she was a little bit glad of the freedom. Two whole weeks of no lessons, either from Hogwarts or Mum. It was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.

Merida saw Hans and Rapunzel running from building to building, but she didn't say anything to them, nor they to her. She also noticed Maximus patrolling the town.

As Merida walked past a pub, she spotted Jack running away. Merida started after him, but he swung his staff around and lifted into the air, flying away.

Slowly, Merida turned to the pub. Inside, she could hear lots of voices yelling.

" … And it's got to be stopped!" a girl's voice proclaimed. Merida peeked inside and saw Camicazi standing on a table. Around her were many other students from all three schools.

"This winter is unnaturally bitter!" Camicazi shouted. "And I should know! Where I come from, sometimes the sea itself freezes over. This snow can only be caused by one thing! The Ice Elves! They think they're better than us! They sent this storm to test us! Well, it won't work! We'll show them that Wizards are the greatest!"

Merida had heard enough. She returned to where she'd spotted Maximus. The horse straightened up when she approached, holding out an apple.

"I know you like Rapunzel more than me, but can you take me where Jack's gone? I'm sure Rapunzel would want you to."

Merida felt a little silly, talking to a horse, but he responded by bowing down so she could climb up. He galloped into the woods, slowing to a trot as they approached a clearing. Merida could hear voices.

"Shh..." a voice said from above.

Merida looked up and spotted Jack sitting in a tree. She dismounted Maximus and climbed the tree, stopping a few feet lower than Jack, as the branches he was sitting on were too fragile to hold a normal human.

From this height, she could see the clearing. Hiccup was giving his dragon riders a lesson or something.

"Spying on the competition?" Merida whispered. Jack shook his head.

"Just a little lonely," Jack said. "I miss the old times, when it was just the four of us."

"Back when mum was driving me nuts, Hiccup was a squib, Rapunzel was too terrified to leave her mother's side and Pitch Black was your head of house?"

"Okay, I miss parts of the old days," Jack amended. He pointed to Hiccup, who was holding up one of Toothless's wings, pointing to the bones. "Remember when he spent hours teaching us how to read Norse runes?"

"Yeah," Merida said, leaning closer to Jack. Hiccup and the others led their dragons off, out of the clearing. Jack made no move to follow them.

She softly laughed, "Remember the first time we were in the forest together? Back when it was haunted by those Sandy horse things."

"Night Mares," Jack corrected automatically.

"What?" Merida said. She'd never heard that term before. Instantly, Jack clammed up.

"It … it's nothing," Jack said, glancing up at the sky. He looked ready to jump off and fly away. Merida grabbed his arm to prevent him from escaping.

"It is not nothing!" she demanded. "Now you tell me what's wrong, or so help me, I will throw you off this tree and make Maximus sit on you!"

Jack sighed. His voice trembled when he spoke, "I … I just overheard someone. It was nothing, really."

"If it was nothing, you wouldn't be trying to run," Merida insisted. Jack didn't have an answer. Merida finally let go of his arm. He didn't run, but he didn't speak either.

"I'm here for you," Merida promised, "if you ever want to talk about it."

"Thank you," Jack said. For a moment, they were quiet in the wintry forest. The world was so hushed, so peaceful. Like time was frozen. Merida could live in this moment forever.

After a few minutes, Jack broke the silence, "I don't suppose you have a date for the ball?"

"Sort of," Merida said. "I've kinda got four."

"Four?" Jack asked in shock. "Geez, I kinda thought you'd be going stag."

"Oh, the lords have been pressuring their sons, and so the sons have been pressuring me for a date. I don't want to go with any of them, but I'd rather go with them to a dance that I'm already attending than have to waste a real vacation day with them."

"The lords' sons. That's three. Who's the fourth?" Jack asked.

"Todd. He's a Gryffindor. He's my fake date. Since the lords' sons are muggles, they're gonna have to sneak in. Todd's going to be my cover."

"Todd doesn't want to go with another girl?" Jack questioned.

Merida shrugged, "He said he wasn't into any of the girls at the school. I understand not being ready for this kinda thing. I'm only really going with the lords' sons as a political move. I need to keep from breaking our bond, or the war could break out again."

"Wow," Jack said with a smile. "You sure are different from the girl I fought with on the train four years ago. That girl wouldn't have cared about responsibility, or thought of others. I hate to admit it, but you're starting to look like a proper young lady."

Merida couldn't do anything but blush.

* * *

A few days later, Derek yelled.

"No, no no! You're doing it wrong."

Jack sighed and turned away. He couldn't concentrate. It was one week before the dance, and he didn't even have a date. How was he supposed to figure out this dancing thing when he didn't even have a clue who he would ultimately be dancing with?

"You need to go back two steps, then to the left two steps," Derek corrected. "And whatever you do, don't step on my feet. Now, try it again."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Why bother? I'm just no good at this."

"You just need to practice more. I've seen you ice skating. It cannot be that different. You just need to convey the same poise."

Jack glanced at Derek, "Why are you trying to help me? I thought you'd jump at the chance to see me fall flat on my face while everyone is watching."

"I'm not doing this to help you. I may not like it, but you are the representative for Hogwarts, and more importantly, Slytherin. While I may love to see a pathetic elf embarrass himself, I would hate for it to look like all Slytherins are terrible at dancing. Now, come on, you have to learn this, or you'll give Slytherins a bad name."

Jack tried the dance steps again.

"Ow! Watch my foot!" Derek shouted at him.

Jack sighed, he just couldn't remember all the steps. Jack sank down against the wall.

"Come on, you have to at least try," Derek encouraged.

"There's no point to it," Jack countered, "I'm just not cultured like you and the others. My mother doesn't throw or get invited to balls. And neither of my dads stuck around long enough to teach me to dance."

"You've never danced at all?"

Jack shrugged, "Just country dances. You know, wild. Not specific steps, but just having fun moving in time to the music."

Derek put his hand to his lips. After a pensive moment, he pulled out his wand and waved it. A minute later, a bunch of instruments flew into the room. A simple spell later and the instruments were playing themselves.

"Now, try it in time to the music," Derek said.

Jack got up. He listened to the music and did the steps. The music flowed through the air, directing his feet to the proper timing. He made it through the whole dance without stepping on Derek once.

"I did it!" Jack said, jumping up and doing a flip.

"I knew you could," Derek said, "but you really should practice some more, just to make sure."

"Okay," Jack said enthusiastically. He started to dance, but this time, Derek hung back.

"Are you going to the ball in that?" Derek said, pointing to Jack's old robes and vest.

"I don't exactly have anything else," Jack said. "Mom stitched 'em up good, though."

Derek rolled his eyes, "Muggle stitch-work on a Slytherin Champion? I don't think so. Besides, those aren't dress robes."

"I know," Jack admitted, "I wanted to get proper dress robes … but I didn't have enough money."

Derek shook his head, "It won't do. You don't even have shoes. But don't worry. I bet I can find you something better."

"Really?" Jack asked, his eyes lighting up. He normally wouldn't take handouts from anyone but he really wanted to be a good representative. Besides, it was only for one night. And if he won the championship, he could pay it back.

"Yes. I think I've got a spare set of dress robes at home. I'll write mother. And if that fails, I can always demand that the younger students start a collection for the dress robes or they get detentions."

"You can't abuse your power like that," Jack said.

"Watch me," Derek said with a cruel laugh. Jack shied away from him.

Derek rolled his eyes, "Oh, don't be such a baby. I really do think I have a spare set of dress robes. I shouldn't have to ask anyone for them. Now, we've sorted out your dance skills, your wardrobe … is there anything else you're missing that might embarrass Slytherin house?"

"I guess I really should have a date?"

"Did you try Fiona and Sara?" Derek asked, referencing the two Slytherin girls in their year.

"I don't want them," Jack said. "I guess they're being nice enough to me now, but don't forget, it's their fault, and yours, that I don't have shoes in the first place. I may be willing to forgive you all for what you did to me, but I won't forget it, and I won't go to the dance with them. Don't worry. I can find my own date."

As Jack said it, an idea popped into his head. There was one girl whom he had not asked. One whom he had never seen with another boy, one who didn't seem to have any other friends. Jack didn't harbor any romantic feelings for her, but if she was free, they could just go as friends. His mind made up, Jack went back to the dance lesson, now sure that everything would fall into place.


	14. The Yule Ball, Part One

Flynn looked up at Hogwarts from his hiding spot in the woods. The castle lights sparkled against the Christmas eve sky. Flynn smiled. He'd always stayed at Hogwarts over Christmas break. It was great to be back.

"What's up there?" the rock kid asked.

"That, Rocky, is a school for wizards," Flynn said, ruffling the kid's grass hair. "I'm not sure what's in there but the Stabbington brothers want it, so we have to find it first."

As Flynn watched, he noticed a lot of students wandering around. That was odd. Usually only a handful of students stayed at school over the break. Sometimes he had the whole Slytherin dorm to himself. But this year … there seemed to be even more students than usual. Several students were walking from the woods to the school. He could hear snippets of their conversation.

"Have you seen North?" a burly boy asked.

"No, he never stays over Snoggletog break," a girl answered.

"But he's our chaperon," a heavyset boy said. "What if we need his help with something?"

"I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow," another, skinnier, boy said. This boy looked vaguely familiar to Flynn. He might have met him before he was expelled. The scrawny boy kept talking, "North has important things to do over Snoggletog … er, Christmas break."

"How would you know?" another, taller boy asked.

"I know things … Look, let's just get to the dance, alright?"

As the students reached the door, a man on a horse marched up to them. Flynn recognized the horse. That horse had been chasing him last year. Suddenly, the horse lifted up his head and sniffed the air. Flynn ducked down quickly.

Flynn turned back to Rocky, "It's too risky to sneak in this way. But don't worry, I know another way in."

Flynn led the way back to Hogsmeade. They'd never held a dance while he was a student. He would have jumped at the chance to practice his smolder on the ladies. Well, at least the dance would help him sneak in.

Most of the shops were closed, seeing as it was Christmas Eve and all, but there was one shop with the light still on, and it was just the one Flynn needed. The Candy Shop.

Flynn started to make his way to it when he spotted three long dark shadows stretching out from an alley.

"Stay here and do that rock thing," Flynn commanded. Rocky nodded and turned into a boulder. Flynn shook his head. He still couldn't believe the transformation. If he didn't know what Rocky looked like, he might never find the kid.

Quietly, Flynn tiptoed down to the shadows, staying just outside the alley where he could hear the voices but they couldn't see him.

"Why can't we find the school?" a voice demanded. Flynn recognized it as one of the Stabbington brothers.

"The school is unplottable," a smoother voice answered. Flynn was pretty sure it was Pitch Black, "and it cannot be just stumbled upon by muggles. That was why you needed a wizard. Or have you lost him again?"

"We ran into some hostiles. We caused a distraction, but 'e got away."

"If you can't keep hold of your possessions, perhaps you don't deserve them."

"He hasn't been that useful anyway," Stabbington said. "I mean, it's cool when he starts a fire with just a stick and all, but most of the time, he steals the way we steal."

"Then you aren't using him right. If you're not going to make him levitate objects, you should at least target magical items. They'll earn you higher profit anyway. And if you do get caught, you can always say the wizard forced you into it with magic. Now, I'm going to give you a gift … you'll find your wizard just around the bend."

 _Uh oh_ , Flynn thought. Before he could decide where to run, the shadows mobilized. Sure enough, both Stabbington brothers were there. Patchy, Flynn's nickname for the one with the eye patch, grabbed his arm.

"Oh, hey, glad we could meet up again," Flynn said, thinking quickly. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"You … you have?" the brother asked.

"Of course!" Flynn said as the other brother let go of his arm. "I got lost after I escaped. By the time I found my way back to your campsite, you'd left. Figured I'd head to Hogwarts since that's where we were going. Of course, I didn't know what we were supposed to be stealing, so I figured I'd wait for you. So … wanna fill me in on the next step of the plan?"

"Hold yer horses, Ryder. First, we gotta get into the school."

Flynn leaned to the left, "Why not follow them?"

The Stabbington brothers turned and the three of them watched as three boys in very nice kilts entered the Candy Shop. No doubt they were heading to the school.

* * *

Rapunzel raced around her room, finding all the proper accessories. She'd picked them out weeks ago when Hans asked her, but she didn't want to miss any. She wished she had a tiara. She knew about the legendary 'lost princess tiara' of course, though she'd never seen it. Her parents kept it on display in their palace. Proof that the lost princess exists; that she would come home some day, hopefully.

Though she didn't have a crown to wear, Rapunzel wasn't about to let her hair stay plain. She cast a spell and dozens of roses bloomed on her bed. Rapunzel started weaving them into her hair. As she planted the last bud, she heard Mother Gothel.

"Well, don't you look like a picture."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked, turning to her mother.

"Of course, dear," Gothel assured her, "as long as the picture is of a clown"

Gothel burst out laughing. Rapunzel looked down at her gown. She didn't look ridiculous, did she?

"Oh, I'm just joking," Gothel said. "You really shouldn't be so sensitive. It's not attractive at all."

"Oh. Okay," Rapunzel said in a small voice.

"Now, I know you just spent hours doing you hair, but I really need to brush it," Gothel said, going to the mirror, poking at wrinkles on her face.

"I have to unbraid it?"

"Yes, my flower, that would be our normal routine."

"But … but can't you just brush the end?"

"No, dear, you know that's not how it works. Now, quickly. Besides … it looks awful like that. I'll help you put it up much better."

"Fine, Mother," Rapunzel said with a sigh. She looked in the mirror as she started to undo the long braid. It wasn't fair. She'd already spent hours washing, brushing and braiding it. Now she had to undo all that hard work... and she'd probably be late for the dance. Gothel didn't help her one iota, making Rapunzel do all the work. Once her hair was undone, Rapunzel sang, Gothel brushed and grew young. Gothel patted Rapunzel on the head before helping her braid the hair back up.

"That's much better, dear," Gothel said, before turning and leaving Rapunzel alone. Rapunzel looked at her reflection. She couldn't see any difference in this braid from the old one. Maybe she was just blind to beauty. A tear slipped out her eye as she once again tucked the flowers into her hair. Maybe she shouldn't go to the dance at all. She would just distract the other students.

A knocking came from the door.

Rapunzel opened it and found Prince Hans.

"Are you ready?" he asked, holding out his arm. Instantly, her fears melted away. Even if Mother was right and she did look disgraceful, it didn't seem to bother Hans, and she knew it wouldn't bother her friends. She would not let Mother ruin her first dance. She was going to enjoy herself this night.

* * *

Hiccup grasped Astrid's wrist as the three champions and their dates kicked off the dance.

"Ow," Astrid whispered as Hiccup accidentally clipped her with his metal leg.

"Sorry," Hiccup said with a grimace. Fortunately, he wasn't too clumsy. Apparently, spending your summer riding a dragon and then having your leg amputated could really help with grace. Still, of the three pairs, Hiccup knew he was the worst. Nearby Rapunzel danced with Prince Hans. The two of them seemed to float over the floor. Even Jack with his date, a girl named Heather, seemed to skate over the floor.

Astrid didn't care too much that Hiccup was clumsy, though. She even let him lead, rare for her.

The three pairs started the dance, twirling around the floor, but it didn't take long for the other students to join in. Even as the last students joined the dance, Hiccup, Jack, and Rapunzel stayed in the center with their dates.

"It's too bad you didn't take Merida," Hiccup remarked, catching Jack's eye, "otherwise we'd all be together."

Astrid's kick to his shin came before Hiccup even realized what he'd said.

"Ow!" Hiccup said, nearly falling as he put all his weight on the peg leg, which had a much narrower base than his real foot.

"If you wanted her so badly, maybe you should have asked her," Astrid said.

"Oh, come on, I didn't mean it like that," Hiccup said. "You know I didn't."

"Whatever!" Astrid said. "I'm getting punch."

Astrid stormed away.

"What's with her?" Heather asked as they stopped dancing.

"If you figure it out, let me know," Hiccup said with a sigh. He knew Astrid and Merida didn't like each other, sure. He wasn't that dense. But how could Astrid think he meant anything by his comment? He'd been going to school with Merida for years. She was his friend back when he thought he was a squib, and long before he ever befriended Toothless. Astrid only really came around after their romantic flight. Even when she hated him, though, he admired her. He wanted her more than anything ... except maybe Toothless.

"Oh, hey," Jack said. "It looks like Merida could use a little more fun."

Jack pointed across the room where Merida was surrounded by four boys, three of them clumsily tripping over one another. Merida's official date, Todd, looked like he was about to punch out one of the lord's sons. Merida was clearly trying to calm them down, but it didn't look like it was working.

"Can you take care of Heather while I go check it out?" Jack asked. Hiccup nodded. Heather leaned up on the wall next to him.

"So … Hiccup, is it?" she asked coyly. "I've heard a lot about you. You're a really good friend."

"Um, thanks," Hiccup said, trying to figure out what she meant.

"You know … every time I hear about you, the subject of dragons seems to come up."

" Wh … why would that be?" Hiccup squeaked.

"I don't know but I'm interested in dragons," Heather said, leaning closer to Hiccup. "I find them fascinating."

She practically whispered the last word in Hiccup's ear. Hiccup pushed Heather away. She was Jack's date. And he had Astrid.

"Any kind of dragon that you're particularly interested in?" Hiccup asked.

"Oh, the usual. Terrible Terrors. Monstrous Nightmares. Welsh Greenbacks. I've never seen a dragon up close, you know."

"That's a shame, they're really beautiful. The powerful jaws, and watching the different kinds of fire." Hiccup quickly caught himself, "I mean … they're terrifying. They … you know … eat people."

Hiccup held up his leg. Not a true example, since it was damaged in the fire from the explosion, not bitten off by teeth, but it did get Heather to change the topic.

"Sorry. I didn't know," she said softly. "Didn't I hear a rumor that the dragon conqueror lives on your island?"

"Dragon conqueror?" Hiccup questioned.

"Trader Johann mentioned it when he visited my island," Heather said.

"Oh." Hiccup didn't think anyone believed Johann when he told those tall tales. That was why his dad figured it was safe for him to know about their dragons. Apparently they were wrong.

"It's hard to believe that anyone could conquer a dragon," Heather said. "I don't suppose you'd know who could perform such a feat."

Heather leaned into him again. Hiccup didn't want to lie to her. He didn't like lying. But he had a duty to his father to keep it a secret. He was saved from answering by Astrid's return. If you could call it saved.

"Well! I leave you alone for five minutes and you just move on to the next girl!" Astrid said forcefully. Hiccup quickly pushed Heather away.

"Oh, come on, Astrid," Hiccup said. "We were just talking."

Astrid turned and started walking away. This time, Hiccup didn't just let her go. With one last look at Heather, he turned and chased after Astrid.

* * *

Merida stood between Todd and Wee Dingwall, trying to diffuse the tension. She wasn't sure what had set them off. The three lord's sons made it through the passage to the one-eyed witch statue just fine. Merida snuck them into the dance one by one, leaving one with Todd while going back for the next. It was upon her final return with Young MacGuffin that she noticed the tension.

"Whiten gin' on?" MacGuffin asked, not helping at all.

"Please, boys," Merida tried, channeling her mother. "We're at a dance. Let's not make a scene."

"This blighter said that witches were bad."

"I did not," Wee Dingwall said. "I said they were daft. Especially tha' one."

Wee Dingwall pointed to the table that stood on the dais in the Great Hall. All the teachers were gathered there. It didn't take long for Merida to spot the one he was focused on: Professor Hallows, the witch who gave her the spell that turned her mum into a bear.

Merida sighed and rolled her eyes, "Well, Professor Hallows _is_ a little daft."

"But the muggle said all witches are daft. Well, maybe all muggles are morons," Todd said angrily. Wee Dingwall didn't respond to the insult, but Macintosh was starting to tense up.

"Now, wait just a minute," he said, getting in on the fight, his face turning red. "You can't blame all of us for what this one did."

"Oh, yeah, why not?" Todd said, looking like he was ready to shove the other boy.

"Guys, come on!" Merida said, stepping between them. They both held off, but the tension was thick. Young MacGuffin tried to say something, but his words went too fast, only adding to the confusion. Before they could fight again, Jack dropped in.

"Hey, wanna have some fun?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Merida said, nodding frantically. Before the lord's sons and Todd even realized what was happening, Jack twisted his wand. Four snowflakes blew out, each one landing on a boy's nose. In an instant, they were all laughing and having fun together. Merida gave a grateful smile to Jack as she took Wee Dingwall for her first dance. She would have to make sure she saved at least one dance for Jack, to thank him.

* * *

Jack smiled as Merida danced with Wee Dingwall, glad he could help. With his cheering snowflakes, he made the other boys see past their anger. They were talking and dancing just as though they'd been best friends forever.

Jack turned away from them. He only needed to start the fun, it would keep going without his intervention. Jack supposed he should get back to his date. Heather must be lonesome without him. She was a nice girl and all, but there was something odd about her. She never seemed to get what he was talking about when he brought up magic spells. He knew they probably had different lessons, but some of the stuff she didn't know just seemed so basic. Like not knowing how to fly on a broom, or about mandrakes. The only thing she seemed to know anything about was dragons.

Just before Jack reached Heather, he noticed someone. Jack wasn't sure why the person in the familiar brown cloak stood out to him so much. Something about the shape, the way the person wearing it moved. Jack gave a quick glance at Heather. She was talking with Hiccup. He could spare a moment. Jack wove through the dancing students following the man in the brown cloak. He had almost reached the man when a girl grabbed his arm.

"Jack, dance with me?"

Jack turned to see Camicazi. When he turned back, the man in the brown cloak was gone. He would have to wait on that mystery.

"Sure thing," Jack said, taking her hand as the next song started.

"So, how's being a Champion?" Camicazi asked. "It's funny, but since you did the first task, I've hardly seen you."

"I've been … busy," Jack said. It was slightly true. What with groundskeeping, learning to dance, studying for the O.W.L.s and trying to figure out the egg thing, he hardly had a moment to plan any pranks. Of course, he had another reason to avoid her.

"I've missed you," she said, leaning into his shoulder. _No, you wouldn't_ , Jack thought. _Not if you knew what I was._ Out loud he simply said, "Yeah, me too."

"Durmstrang is fun and all, but I wish you were there," Camicazi said. "We could team up to take down Snotlout."

"I've heard a lot about him from Hiccup … they're cousins, right?" Jack question.

"No clue. But Snotlout's been hitting on all the girls since he turned thirteen. It's quite annoying."

Jack nodded. Ever since he became the Champion, and even a little before, dozens of girls had been throwing themselves at him. He did kind of like the attention, but at the same time, it was weird to see people who'd been ready to stone him last year suddenly clamoring for his affection.

"Okay, so you hate Snotlout. But not all boys at your school are bad, are they?"

"Fishlegs is okay, I guess. He's quiet, and a little more into books than a proper Viking should be, but at least he's a Berserker."

"A … a Berserker?"

"Yeah, we found that out last year when he went berserk after failing weapons class. His tantrum was so impressive North decided to count going berserk as a form of weapon and passed him anyway."

"Okay ..." Jack said. He'd thought he heard Hiccup mention Beserkers as an enemy tribe, he didn't know that it could also be a trait in any Viking. "What about boys in your year?"

"There's only two and I hate 'em. They're both Peaceable farmers. No Viking princess should hang out with Peaceable farmers."

Jack swallowed. She wouldn't hang out with farmers, ice elves … well, now he didn't have to wonder why the sorting hat put her in Slytherin. He needed to get away from her before she figured out what he was.

"So … who's your date tonight?" Jack tried casually.

She shrugged, "Tuffnut. We don't really get along, but he didn't want to go with his sister."

"Oh, where is he now?" Jack asked, hoping to pass her off to her date.

"With his sister. It's weird. I mean, I know twins count as one person and all, but you would think he'd try to spend the day away from her once in a while. Ever since the summer, he's been worse than ever. It's like they're two heads on the same body now."

Jack smiled to himself. Camicazi didn't know what Jack knew. She didn't know about Barf and Belch. He wondered if she would hate dragons as much as she hated ice elves … and suddenly, an idea came to him. _Hiccup_ had hated dragons before the summer. He'd set out to kill them. And yet somehow, somehow he ended up not only gaining a best friend, but convincing everyone in his town to love dragons just as much. Maybe he could do the same thing for ice elves. Jack kept dancing with Camicazi, but now he had a plan, a purpose, and at the first chance he got, he would implement it.

* * *

Flynn pulled the collar of the cloak up so it covered his face. He knew he shouldn't worry. He was wearing a mask, and anyway, it had been years since he attended Hogwarts. All his friends would have grown up and graduated. Except for one.

Flynn sincerely hoped he would not run into his old friend. It would be awkward to meet and have to rob him. Not that Jack knew anything about the treasure the Stabbington brothers were seeking. Even he wasn't quite sure what it was. Some rare magical item. A special mirror or something. There were lots of mirrors at Hogwarts. Some of them enchanted, some not. Flynn had no clue which one was the one the Stabbington brothers were looking for. But he had to at least try to comply with their crazy plan.

At this moment, the Stabbington brothers were scouring the school, pretending to be lost looking for the ball, while Flynn was supposed to be pumping students for information. He was still young enough that he could pass for a student, even with his goatee. Add the mask and cloak and no one would know who he was.

Flynn danced with many girls, asking them about mirrors. None of them had any information that seemed useful. They would mention mirrors that flattered them, or mirrors that showed them different ways to do their hair, or how to apply make up. But those were all simple charms. Mere novelty items. Nothing that would be worth more than a few galleons in a witch's market. Maybe a couple pounds in a muggle shop.

As he tried to act causal, he couldn't help but pick up some tidbits of Hogwarts gossip. He learned all about the Tri-wizard tournament, and how Pitch was ousted a year ago … just after his talk with Jack.

He was a little upset to learn about the Fearling attacks on the school. Not that he really knew or cared about any of the students who'd been attacked, but it was a little disturbing to find out that Fearlings could take someone's magic away.

Just as Flynn started to try and break away from the dance, feeling that he'd learned all he could from the students, a girl with a blonde braid grabbed him.

"Dance with me," she commanded. Flynn went along with it, afraid of making her suspicious if he appeared too nervous. The girl led as they moved across the dance floor to the piano music played by a … was that a Viking with a hook hand?

The girl stepped hard as she pulled him across the room.

"Whoa, easy there," Flynn said, trying to take control of the dance. He didn't know much about dancing, but he was pretty sure the guy was supposed to lead.

The girl kept pulling him closer to a group of students. From the way she kept looking over her shoulder, he guessed she was checking up on someone.

"Boyfriend troubles?" he tried.

"Yes," the girl hissed. "Look at her. Little Miss Perfect! Dancing with MY boyfriend."

Flynn looked where the girl gestured. It was the boy he thought looked familiar outside. Flynn suddenly remembered where he'd seen him before. He'd never been good friends with the boy, but he spent hours learning about him, pumping Jack for information on his friends, because Pitch wanted to know. Flynn wasn't sure what Pitch saw in the boy, but if Pitch wanted him dead, then he must be good.

"You know … maybe you're thinking on this too much. OW!" The girl stomped on his foot.

"I am not! She's throwing herself at him, trying to worm her way into our relationship!"

"Well … maybe," Flynn agreed, noting that the girl whom she referred to was whispering in the boy's ear. "But it doesn't mean anything. If your boyfriend loves you, then you've nothing to worry about. And if he doesn't … well, you're better off without him."

Despite Flynn's words, the girl kept glancing at her boyfriend.

"Hey," Flynn said after a bit. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about a mirror would you?"

"A mirror? Is that part of the tournament?"

"I'm not sure. I just heard someone mention it. I'm not sure who."

"Well, I don't know anything about mirrors. We don't have them on Berk. Too fragile."

"Okay, well, thanks." Flynn started to pull away as the song ended. He needed to get out of there and rendezvous with the Stabbington brothers. Just before he turned from her for good, he decided to give one last bit of advice, "You know … if you're really worried about your boyfriend's loyalties, why don't you check with his friends? Surely they would know how he feels about you and the other girl."

The girl seemed to contemplate that as Flynn finally broke away. He was about to leave the Great Hall when he spotted her. A long braid with flowers in it trailing down the back of her purple cloak. She turned and he saw the princess's large green eyes. The last time he'd seen her, she'd convinced him not to betray Jack to Pitch Black.

She hadn't seen him. He could slip away undetected. But almost as if an invisible force was driving him, he went across the room to dance with Princess Rapunzel.

* * *

 **A/N: To everyone who wished Jack's date was going to be Elsa, I am a Jelsa shipper but this is not a Jelsa story. Jack and Elsa have not met in my canon.** **Even if I made up a meeting off screen (which I wouldn't do, because it would cheat my readers out of witnessing their first meeting), Elsa would be too scared of losing control to go to a crowded room, not to mention her parents died in the last chapter and she would be too distraught to attend a ball. And having her meet anyone else with similar powers would change the plot of Frozen, and I'm trying to stay as close to the movies as possible.  
**

 **DemigodseaMeg16: Actually, of all of them, I would have pegged Hiccup as the Parseltongue since in the books he could talk to dragons (reptiles). While elves can probably talk to animals, Jack is only part elf, I don't think he'd be as gifted with languages. I'm not positive Jack really understood the wind or Baby Tooth in the movies. He did talk to them, but as I understood it, it had more to do with being lonely than an actual ability to communicate. Thanks for the suggestion, though.**

 **Sofia: I do not hate Astrid, I'm simply letting her character from the TV show and movies (competitive, suspicious and prone to jealousy) react to the events I've created (being in a major competition, knowing her boyfriend is friends with the other champion, and having other girls besides Ruffnut to compete with.) Not to mention, there is some tension between Scots and Vikings in this story. While Hiccup and Merida have worked past it, the other Vikings have not grown so tolerant.**

 **March Hare: Thank you for the vote of confidence. I don't think it would be so easy to simply change the names in this story and publish it, mostly because of the setting and backstories, but, that said, I am actually working on a couple of original fiction stories that happen to star a girl who likes archery, an inventor boy with exotic pets, a healer girl and a carefree boy. It's not finished and the plot isn't the same as this story but someday it might be a published novel or series. I'm even working on one that might be an animated series. As to your question about the dorms: No. That was an interesting part in the HP books but since none of my main characters are in the same house, I don't really have a reason to bring it up. Also, I'm not sure if the staircase thing was in all the dorm rooms or just the Gryffindor one.**


	15. The Yule Ball, Part Two

Try as he might, Hiccup just couldn't seem to lose Heather. She was a nice girl and all, but couldn't she see he was having problems with his date? Having Heather tag along after him was not helping.

"Don't you want to, I don't know, dance or something?" Hiccup said as he noticed Astrid dancing with someone else.

"But my date hasn't come back yet." Hiccup looked across the room, Jack was on the other side, with Camicazi.

"What about the other boys? I'm sure some of them would love to dance with you."

"No," Heather said, tilting her head down. "No one wants to dance with me. I'm too weird."

Hiccup knew a thing or two about being weird. Instantly he felt bad for trying to ditch her.

"I'm sorry. But things will get better when you find your calling."

"I hope so," Heather said. "I was hoping you could help me find it. "

"What?"

"Well ... it's just ... the only things I've ever been good at have been dragon related. I guess I was hoping, when I heard you came from the same place as the Dragon Conqueror ... Never mind, I guess I'm just a fool for even thinking I could have friends."

Heather looked so dejected. Hiccup sighed, "Look ... I'm busy right now, but maybe you could go find Fishlegs. He's studied dragons a little. Maybe he can give you some tips."

"Fishlegs. Which one is he?"

"Big, blond, chunky, kinda shy," Hiccup directed her. Heather left and Hiccup turned his attention back to Astrid. He was confident that Fishlegs wouldn't spoil their secret while also helping Heather fit in.

The song ended and Astrid stepped away from her dance partner. Hiccup jumped in before Astrid could get away.

"We need to talk," he started.

"Why don't you talk with Heather since you're such good friends with her," Astrid snapped.

"I'm not friends with her. We barely know each other. She's just interested in dragons."

"Doesn't that seem suspicious to you?" Astrid said. "She just happens to like dragons? And she just happens to get a date with your friend the champion?"

"No. Jack told me he just felt sorry for her, having no friends and all." Hiccup sighed, "Look, let's forget about Heather. I passed her off to Fishlegs."

Hiccup turned around to check ... Heather was actually dancing with Young MacGuffin, who was also big, blond, chunky and kind of shy. Hiccup shook his head. It didn't matter. The point was, she was busy with someone else.

"Let's forget about her. And let's forget about this competition. I'm sorry for what I said and did before. Why don't we go for a flight? Just you, me and Toothless. Like we did before. You know."

Astrid smiled at the idea, "That ... that sounds nice. I guess I am a little stressed about the competition. And homework. Your stupid potions master is making us write up the instructions for some potions."

"I know. I'm in that class too, you know. But really, it's not that difficult to remember that the first ingredient in a draught of peace is powdered moonstone or that you-"

Astrid leaned forward and kissed him. He stopped talking. When she pulled away she said, "It would be nice to get away from it all."

"Are you guys going somewhere?" Tuffnut asked, coming up to them.

"Just out for a flight," Hiccup said.

"Bet it's cooler than here," Ruffnut sighed.

"Not really," Astrid said, squeezing Hiccup's hand.

"Cool, where are we going?" Snotlout asked.

"I didn't exactly invite you-" Hiccup said.

"Oh! We can fly home, and get there in time for Snoggletog!" Fishlegs added.

"Looks like that romantic flight will have to wait," Hiccup whispered to Astrid. She smiled.

* * *

Rapunzel swayed to the music. Hans had hardly left her alone all evening. She liked the attention, it was certainly better than being ignored. But she wondered why her life always seemed to come in such extremes. Either Mother left her alone in her tower for hours, or she kept constant watch over everything Rapunzel did. Hans was very nice, but he was sticking awfully close to her. She supposed if she was a new student in a strange school, she'd stick close to her guide, too. Finally, though, he left her side to fetch her a glass of punch. It was nice to have some time just to hang with her friends. If she could find them, at least.

As Rapunzel scanned the crowded room for her friends, a tall stranger caught her eye. Unlike most of the other students, this boy wore a mask, and his cloak looked strangely familiar. Rapunzel started to turn away. After all, she was looking for her friends, not some random person ... even if he did have a physique that made her heart flutter.

"Excuse me, miss," the man in a mask asked, "may I have this dance?"

Rapunzel hesitated. Had the handsome stranger really just asked to dance? That was impossible. Mother always said she was too ugly and uncoordinated. No one but Prince Hans would want to be with her ... Rapunzel swallowed her nervousness and took the stranger's hands.

Together they glided over the dance floor, their feet moving in perfect sync, as though they were one. Rapunzel had never felt so complete in her life. He hardly spoke a word, and yet she felt as though she knew his every thought. That must be how Cinderella felt dancing with the prince.

Rapunzel was having so much fun, she almost didn't notice when Hans returned.

"Excuse me, but that's my date," Hans said, a slight scowl played at his lips.

"Oh, Hans … this is … who are you?" Rapunzel asked.

"My fair lady, it is not important who I am, only that thou hast a good time. If you wish, I would love another dance."

Hans's eye twitched, "Princess, why don't you excuse us for a moment, I wish to have a word with him."

Hans handed her the glass of punch and he and the boy stared at each other. Rapunzel could feel the tension, but she didn't know what to do about it … but her friends would. Merida, Jack, and Hiccup were all really good at breaking up fights, as long as none of them were fighting themselves.

Rapunzel turned from the two boys to find someone to help.

She spotted Jack across the room, dancing with Camicazi. Quickly she went to him.

"Jack, can you help?" She quickly explained the situation. Jack smiled.

"Sure thing, Punzie. But afterwards, you have to dance with me."

Jack ran towards the commotion.

"Why does everyone want him to break up fights?" Camicazi asked.

"Oh, Jack's really good at it. He can make anyone have fun," Rapunzel said. She hoped she was right, and he would keep the boys from fighting.

* * *

"She's mine, and you'd better leave her alone," Jack heard Hans saying to the stranger. The stranger in the mask with the familiar cloak. Perfect, just the person Jack wanted to see.

"Hey, guys, I don't know if you noticed, but the girl you're fighting over got away," Jack said. Both of them looked up in shock. Hans gave a quick shove to the stranger, knocking him to the floor, then went after Rapunzel. Jack helped the masked man up.

"So why the mask?" Jack asked, certain of the man under it.

"Oh .. uh, I thought it would be more fun as a masquerade ball," the stranger said in voice deeper than Jack expected. Still, Jack was fairly sure he knew who he was.

"So are you still going by Flynn?"

"Yeah" the stranger said automatically. Almost immediately he stiffened up, "… er uh, I don't know … aw, shoot."

Jack chuckled, "So what are you doing here?"

"Looking for a mirror," Flynn replied.

"A mirror? What mirror?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn't be dancing with these girls. I guess I should get out of here."

Flynn started to walk away.

"Oh, no, you don't," Jack said, grabbing his arm. "You haven't told me what you've been up to."

Suddenly, an idea came to Jack's head, "And anyway, maybe I can help you if you tell me what's going on. But not here. I know a place. Come with me."

Jack led Flynn out of the Great Hall and up several floors. He checked each classroom until he found the one he was looking for. The one Mother Gothel had confessed in weeks ago. A ghost floated by, but Jack knew they wouldn't bother him, though it made Flynn jump a bit.

"Okay, so spill," Jack said.

"I thought you were gonna help me."

"You owe me," Jack protested. "I've been looking for you for a long time."

"Fair enough," Flynn shrugged. He shared the whole story about being imprisoned by the Stabbington brothers and how they were employed by Pitch and now they sought a strange mirror.

"Wow, and I thought Pitch was only targeting me," Jack said when Flynn concluded.

"I thought you got rid of him, that's the rumor at least."

Jack sighed and looked around, checking for any shadows that weren't in the right place, "I guess I can tell you … after all, he only threatened my sister if I told the Guardians. Pitch has been visiting me. I know he's trying to get in my head and all … but it's working. And I don't know what to do. I'm too scared of what he might do to seek help."

Flynn nodded, "Yeah, he can be wicked. At least he didn't expel you. Is your sister okay?"

"I don't know," Jack admitted. "I've sent her and mother some letters, but neither of them can read or write. We used to have a deal with the pastor ... but I think that door might be closed to them now. I don't have any way of knowing if Pitch has carried out his threats or not."

'That sucks. Listen, if I'm ever traveling by your village, I'll check up on your sister for you."

"Thanks," Jack said. "Now, about your missing mirror. I've been working as the school groundskeeper for a while, and I've never seen any special mirror. But you said the Stabbington brothers were only after profit, right?"

"Yep. That's what they want. Something shiny they can sell."

"I don't know how shiny it is, but I have a suggestion. How about you convince them to steal memories?"

"Memories?"

"Professor Toothiana is the Guardian of memories. She says all memories are stored in baby teeth, which she collects in her palace in India. You go convince the Stabbington brothers to steal some of the memories. And in the meantime, you steal Rapunzel's memories."

"Rapunzel? The girl I was dancing with?" Flynn asked, cocking his head to the side.

Jack took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. Time to see if the wording of his magic promise was vague enough.

"Yes. I promised that the story would never leave this room … and so I can only tell you in this room. But Rapunzel was kidnapped by Gothel."

"The lady in red. I saw her yelling at Pitch last year. She said the girl had the power to destroy his nightmares _._ "

Jack nodded, "She told me. She wants my help in keeping Rapunzel safe. But she made me promise not to tell anyone."

Jack kept the part about Rapunzel's hair being magic a secret. Even though he trusted Flynn, he didn't just want to go blabbing Rapunzel's secret; it was hers to tell. Besides, the Stabbington brothers did not sound very nice. No chance of Flynn accidentally letting anything slip if he didn't even know.

"Now, I promised that I wouldn't tell anyone. And you can't tell without revealing that I broke my promise. Not to mention no one would believe a muggleborn orphan thief or peasant ice elf like us over the woman who raised Rapunzel. But if we have Rapunzel's earliest memories ... If we can prove that Gothel was the lady who stole her from the crib …"

"Then the king would believe us. Just one question, if you have this brilliant plan, why not ask Toothiana directly?"

Jack sighed and looked down. "Pitch. He's watching my conversations with the Guardians, I think. Besides, I don't exactly trust them. I mean, they're nice enough, I suppose, but they aren't exactly good at noticing things. Look at all the stuff Pitch got away with while he was here. And it took us an awful long time to convince them something was wrong. If Emily Jane hadn't come out, he might still be here. They didn't even raise an eyebrow when he got rid of you. And now to encourage peace they're making three teenagers fight over some prize? The Tournament is fun and all, but this just seems a little ill-conceived. So forgive me for not believing in the Guardians."

"Okay." Flynn shrugged, "Any clue how I find this palace?"

"It's in India. Other than that, no. Maybe follow a tooth fairy? They look like hummingbirds."

Flynn nodded, "To India it is then. I guess I should go convince my companions."

"And I need to get back to the dance. I think I've been away from my date for too long."

Flynn turned to go. At the door he paused, "Oh, I do have something for you."

Flynn started to take off his cloak. Jack suddenly realized why it had seemed familiar. It was the one he lost in the fire last year. Jack smiled, he'd hardly noticed its absence, being relatively immune to the cold.

"Keep it," Jack said. "Or better yet, give it to my sister if you pass by her. That way I'll know if you made it."

"Sure. I promise," Flynn said, leaving it on. He checked the hallway before darting out and disappearing into the night.

Jack smiled after him, glad that they'd met up. It was a lot better than the days when he felt Flynn abandoned him.

When Jack got back to the ballroom, the group was doing some kind of crowd dance, where they all held hands and danced around in a circle. Jack went over to where Hans and Rapunzel were dancing.

Jack waited for the music to swirl, as the participants twirled out, Jack got between them, taking Rapunzel's arms.

"I've not had a chance with you, tonight," Jack said as they fell back into the line. He could feel Han's eyes on him, but he didn't care. "Having fun?"

"Oh yes," Rapunzel said. Her eyes scanned the crowd, "… I don't suppose that stranger will come back?"

"I don't think so," Jack said, keeping Flynn's identity to himself. After all, he didn't want anyone interfering with Flynn's ability to get the teeth. "How's Hans treating you?"

"Oh, he's still nice. Just a little … possessive," Rapunzel admitted. "But I don't mind. I'm used to it, you know, with Mother."

Just as Gothel said, Jack remembered, when she warned him that Hans was interested in Rapunzel for the same reasons she was. He would have to keep his eye on Hans. But for now, he didn't want to hurt Rapunzel by challenging her choice of date. After a minute of dancing together, Hans managed to break into the dance line next to Rapunzel, pulling her away from Jack. Jack decided not to fight it, so long as they were both having fun.

* * *

As soon as Merida saw her opportunity, she ditched Macintosh and grabbed Todd.

"Sick of the muggles?" he asked.

"Oh, they aren't so bad," Merida said, "but they're nae graceful. My feet need a break from being stepped on."

"I hate to admit it, but I'm not so graceful, either," Todd said.

"Just dance me away from them," Merida said. "I just need a break, and I figure it would look better if we were actually seen dancing together, you know? So I don't get in trouble for bringing them."

"I don't get why you didn't just ask?" Todd said, steering her past the catering table where Attila was giving away cupcakes. "They let you bring the boys to the games didn't they?"

"Aye, but I was afraid they'd make me choose. You know, say I could bring only one muggle. And that puts me back in the same boat I was in two years ago, having to choose between them and risking war if the other clans didn't think they had a fair chance. Besides, it's easier to get rid of them this way. I can just say I need to dance with my official date and they let me go. Otherwise I'd be stuck with those losers all night."

At this point, Todd did step on her foot. Merida winced and he left to get ice. Before he could return, though, her foot frosted over. She looked up to see Jack Frost, smiling.

"Care to dance?" he asked as a slow song started to play. Merida nodded and limped with him.

They couldn't help but dance past Hiccup and Astrid, who appeared to have made up and were back together. Merida and Astrid glared at each other when they passed.

"What's your problem with her?" Jack asked after they were a good distance away.

"She's … shes' so infuriating. And she's against you in the competition."

"Hey, I'm ahead of her," Jack reminded Merida.

"But you aren't in the lead!" Merida snapped. "You've got to step it up, to beat her and that lame prince!"

"Look, Merida," Jack said, twirling her out, "I'm all for winning. It'd be great to be a winner. But let's not let this little competition break up our friendship. Hiccup likes Astrid. No matter how you feel about her that's not going to change."

"What are you saying?" Merida demanded.

"I'm saying … if you make Hiccup feel like he has to choose between his girlfriend and you, you might not like the choice he makes."

Merida stopped dancing. She wanted to storm away. To accuse Jack of being on Astrid's side. But she knew in her heart there was some truth to it. Hiccup had chosen Astrid. He'd wanted her all through last year. Merida might not like Astrid, but Hiccup was vouching for her.

Merida looked up at Jack. He'd stopped dancing as well, and was standing there awkwardly. Not so long ago, she had hated him with every fiber of her being. Hiccup was the one who convinced her to give Jack a second chance. Maybe, maybe she ought to give Astrid the second chance.

Her mind made up, Merida resumed dancing.

* * *

Pitch glared at the castle. With Sandman watching, he couldn't infiltrate it. Pity, really. He'd wanted to watch the Stabbington brothers and Flynn as they scoured the castle. He didn't much care if they succeeded in their theft or not, but if the muggles were seen, it could send a panic through the school.

A muggle assault on a magic school was just what the world needed. That would be the final nail in the coffin. The wizards would declare war on them then. The muggles would fight back, having more witch executions, until all children on both sides were too afraid to set foot outside. And Pitch would be there, inside their closets, under their beds, ready to collect their screams.

It was brilliant. He'd never felt so much power in his life. Not even when he terrorized the the Tsar and Tsarina Lunoff. Or when he attacked and kidnapped the children of Santoff Claussen. Those were mere treats in the buffet of fear. With the world on edge as it was now … that was the sweet spot. He just needed to make it last for as long as possible. An eternity or two should do.

Unfortunately, no screams came from the castle. The lights still shown brightly under the full moon. Soon, Pitch heard a commotion from the candy shop that connected to the castle.

"I don't think we shoulda left so soon," a Stabbington brother said. "We din't git anything."

"But that's where you're wrong!" Flynn said energetically. "We got the best score of all. Information on an even bigger prize. Who needs a stupid mirror when we could literally alter memories to make people give us what we want? You'd never have to steal again. Just use the memories to convince people they owe you money. You'll live like kings without lifting a finger."

So that was the game. Pitch thought. The boy must have run into one of those four annoying children. They'd told Flynn about the Tooth Fairy and now he was leading the Stabbington brothers to her teeth. Well, this might be advantageous for Pitch as well. He would have preferred a muggle scare at the school, it's true. It would have been more immediate fear. But in the long run, it might be best that the boys did rob the Tooth Palace.

Yes, Pitch thought as the gang started away from the castle. Scaring Toothiana by stealing her teeth might give him as much power as whatever the boys could have stirred up at the school. And stealing the memories … well, that was an idea! Then, when Pitch managed to take out the other Guardians, not only would the children have no Christmas, Easter or sweet dreams, but with their memories gone, they would not even be able to remember the last time they had one. If the Stabbington brothers were unsuccessful, Pitch would have to remember to steal the teeth himself.


	16. The Riddle of the Egg

Flynn and Rocky sat under a tree. The Stabbington brothers were having a private discussion nearby. It had taken some convincing to get them to leave the school empty-handed, but Flynn managed to charm them into believing that the real treasure they sought was elsewhere. At first he thought he might have lost Rocky. The little fellow had just escaped hostile muggles so Flynn tried to lead the brothers away from him, which also meant leaving him behind. But the troll managed to follow him. As soon as Flynn had left to gather firewood, a rock had rolled out in front of him.

Flynn was kind of happy for the ally but he also felt bad for Rocky who would have to remain hidden. Now, how to get two muggles, a rock troll, and himself to a mythical tooth palace in India?

"So," Flynn said as he drew a map in the snow, "this is where we are. And I think this is where we need to go."

"It doesn't look so far," Rocky said, looking around as though India was visible from their campsite.

"'Cause I didn't draw the map to scale. That's like, halfway across the world. You don't have any troll magic that can get us there, do you?"

"Um … nope. Grand Pabbie might, though," Rock Boy said. "He's in my home. In the mountains of Arendelle."

"Arendelle," Flynn said, more to himself. That was where he was when the Stabbington brothers caught him. It was in the right direction from England. A little farther north than India, but not so far out of the way that he couldn't convince the brothers to go.

Of course, he'd promised Jack that he would check in on his sister, which would take them south. Flynn took his stick and plotted the course. Maybe he could convince the brothers he needed some things … then he could make them go wherever he wanted. Flynn rubbed out the map, his mind made up. Flynn gave one last bit of advice to Rocky, "Play along with whatever I say."

"Guys!" Flynn called hopping up. "Breaking into the Tooth Fairy's palace is gonna be rough. We're gonna need some tools. Luckily, I know just the place to get them. Down in Southern England. I've enchanted this here rock to help me locate the place."

Rocky immediately pointed south. The brothers looked impressed and the group of four set off. Flynn hoped they never questioned Rocky. If they found out he was really a troll, he'd be back to being a prisoner. Maybe Flynn could pass him off to Jack's family. Jack would take care of the little guy. He was sure of it. And once he managed to get rid of all his companions, he was heading straight for an island. Tanned and rested and alone ... that was the dream.

* * *

When school resumed, Merida felt well rested. She was amazed at how smoothly sneaking the lords' sons in was. After her initial dance with each of them, they went off with other witches. Building a relationship between muggles and wizards was a high priority. Adding to the fact that it also eased the tensions between the clans, her mum wrote and said that it was a diplomatic act worthy of a queen. Merida couldn't help but smile for the rest of break.

Eventually classes started again and she had to focus back on the task at hand. Namely, figuring out how to help Jack get into his egg.

Jack had let her and Camicazi turn the thing over a million times, but she hadn't figured it out yet. And she had no clue how the magical jeweled flower factored in. As she walked down to History, she spotted Hiccup, surrounded by his Viking friends.

"I still can't believe Meatlug is a girl," the boy twin was saying.

"Okay," Hiccup said, "from now on, we don't get on our dragons around Snoggletog. We let them fly wherever they need to for the nesting."

"At least you got your helmet back," Fishlegs said.

"Which is why I won't be wearing it while flying again," Hiccup said.

"It only fell off because your head's too small," Snotlout said, shoving Hiccup. "It wouldn't fall off a real Viking like me."

The bigger boy lifted up his arms to show off his muscles.

Merida scowled as she approached them, but then her mum's voice popped into her head, 'A princess does not hold grudges.'

Her mum was so proud of her behavior over break. Was she really going to throw it all away to maintain some stupid jealous fight? Hiccup hadn't complained when she spent time with the lords' sons, even though one of them did scuttle the Viking long ships. He'd even helped her with dealing with them. Merida supposed she ought to do the same.

"Hey, Hiccup. Have a good break?" Merida asked. Astrid eyed her suspiciously, but Merida was careful to look pleasantly at all the savage Vikings.

"It was great. I made another mechanical tail for Toothless. One that doesn't need the foot petal. He didn't really seem to like it, so I switched back to the regular tail, but I've still got the new one in my trunk," Hiccup said. "Ready for class?"

"Which class is this again?" Astrid asked.

"History of Magic," Hiccup said. All the Vikings groaned. Merida could relate. Hiccup was the only person who ever seemed to enjoy the lesson, and that was probably because when he was a squib it was the only class he could get an O in.

The students went into the class. Merida didn't try to infiltrate the circle they made around Hiccup. She ended up sitting next to Snotlout.

"Hey babe," he said, leering at her. Merida leaned back. She was lucky none of the lords' sons really wanted her. It was hard just pushing against their parents. She couldn't imagine having to fight off the boys as well. Still, Merida forced herself to put up with it. It was partly her fault that the she'd gotten off on the wrong foot with the Vikings. Even if she wasn't completely responsible, she knew that as a princess, she must be the one to start making amends. She was determined to do it. No matter how creepy Snotlout behaved.

* * *

Rapunzel sat by the window brushing her hair after class one evening. As she brushed, she dreamt that she was back in the Great Hall dancing with the mysterious stranger. Most of the night she'd danced with Hans. Hans was very nice, and a very good dancer, but he didn't seem quite as in step with her heart as the stranger. Since classes resumed, Rapunzel had been keeping her eye out for the masked man, but no one would confess to being the man wearing the mask at the ball.

As she brushed, she hummed the tune in her heart "... La la la … it's like the fog is lifted …"

Gothel opened the door, but Rapunzel was determined not to let her mother ruin her mood. She wouldn't tell her about the stranger. As far as Mother was concerned, her good mood was only from the dance with Prince Hans.

"Rapunzel?" Mother Gothel asked gently.

"Yes, Mother?" Rapunzel said, her mind still dreaming.

"That boy is here to see you." Gothel stepped aside and Rapunzel put down her brush.

Prince Hans entered and looked at her hair in amazement. Until now he'd only seen it braided. She kept forgetting how much of a shock it must be to strangers to see a girl with 60 feet of hair.

"Hello, Hans," Rapunzel said getting up off her stool. After a moment, he tore his eyes away from her hair.

"Yes … um, I would like to formally apologize for my behavior at the ball, Princess. I was jealous, reckless, and perhaps a bit … pigheaded. It was irresponsible of me to subject you to such a fight."

"That's okay," Rapunzel said, brushing back her hair. "You should see Jack and Merida going at it sometimes. They can really be at each other's throats."

"Still, I came to make a peace offering."

"Really?" Rapunzel asked, the excitement in her voice growing. No one ever offered to make peace with her. They would stop fighting if they saw it upset her, but they rarely apologized for it.

"Yes. A clue about the egg for your friend Jack. Tell him – tell him he just needs to put it in the opposite environment."

"The opposite environment?" Rapunzel asked.

"I don't think I should give more than that. Wouldn't want your friend to be accused of cheating. We're not supposed to have outside help."

Rapunzel smiled. She was lucky to have such good friends. As soon as her hair was braided again, she would be sure to find Jack and help him open his egg.

* * *

Hiccup sat on a log next to Astrid as she turned the egg over in her hand.

"You don't have any clue how to open it yet?" Hiccup asked.

"No. I can't find any latch or keyhole. I've tried every spell I know to open things. None of them seem to work."

"It's too bad that it's not a real dragon's egg," Fishlegs sighed, "then it would have exploded on Snoggletog with the others."

Astrid glared at him. Over break, the kids had used their dragons to sneak back to Berk after the dance, and Astrid had accidentally planted some exploding eggs all over the village.

"Wait," Hiccup said. "Maybe that's the answer. The eggs explode. Now, real dragon eggs explode when the baby inside is old enough to breathe fire and can explode the egg. But maybe we can artificially explode the egg."

Astrid put the egg down and stepped away.

"Wait," Fishlegs said.

He got down and examined the egg, "Okay, it looks like it's a millimeter thick. A Deadly Nadder's fire would be too hot. It might damage the clue that's inside. A Monstrous Nightmare would be a better choice."

Everyone looked to Hookfang, who was lazily looking in the other direction.

"Hookfang, annihilate," Snotlout yelled, giving the arm command that the dragon training academy had been working on recently. After a minute the dragon shot a blast at the egg. At first, it seemed like nothing happened, but then, slowly, the shell began to crack.

Astrid ran toward it, pulling the broken pieces away, revealing a scroll.

"Oh great, it's a riddle," Astrid sighed.

She read from the scroll:

If the prize you wish to take,

The next challenge involves the lake.

Four ingredients you shall need

to perform this tricky deed.

One pure ingredient is easy to get

If you know your potions, you should not fret.

The second will cause you no woe

You can only find it under the moon's glow.

The third is an animal part,

Think of writing, that will give you a start.

And the last thing on this list

is a flowery syrup not to be missed.

Find these things and brew it right

and the prize you seek will be in your sight.

Hiccup turned the riddle over in his head. He was good at riddles. One of the few things he could do well even before he learned to use his left hand. Over the summer he'd even found Hammish the Second's treasure by solving a riddle.

"It sounds like you need to brew a potion," Hiccup said. "The clues are about the ingredients. We need to figure out what they are so we can figure out which potion you need to brew."

"Oh great, if it turns out like your Yaknog, we're good," Ruffnut said, causing her twin to snicker. Astrid glared at them before turning back to Hiccup.

"Wait, so I'm supposed to brew this thing before the challenge? Or is brewing it in front of everyone the challenge?"

"I don't know," Hiccup said, taking the scroll from Astrid. "It doesn't say. But you'll have to practice anyway. Might as well make it ahead, and then if you have to make it in front of everyone, you can just keep the second one as a spare."

"Okay, so what potion is it?" Ruffnut asked.

"Please let it be an Exploding Potion," Tuffnut added, his fingers crossed.

"Yeah, and then we can make Snotlout drink it," Ruffnutt said.

"Why don't you two mutton heads drink it," Snotlout said, turning on the twins. The three of them started to fight. Hiccup tuned them out as he went over the list. He'd always been very good at potions, too. And Fishlegs was into botany.

"Fishlegs, work on figuring out the deadly flower part," Hiccup commanded, turning away from the group.

"Where are you going?" Astrid demanded.

"To the library!" Hiccup exclaimed. With just a little research, he was certain he could help Astrid figure this out, then maybe she would stop getting mad at him.

* * *

Jack sat quietly in the corner of the club room, mindlessly rolling the egg between his feet. The girls, Camicazi and Merida, who were in the room with him, must have thought he was trying to solve its riddle. But his mind was far from the challenge.

He'd been trying to get in touch with Hiccup lately. He needed Hiccup to tell him how he got his village to stop fearing dragons. But whenever Jack got close, Astrid jumped in the way. She was convinced Jack only wanted to ruin her chances at being the champion. No matter what Jack said, he couldn't convince her that he couldn't care less about who won.

"I wish Hiccup were here," Jack sighed, kicking the egg away.

"Oh, you don't need that traitor," Merida said. "If he wants to help his little girlfriend win … well, I hope they enjoy losing to you. Serves the Viking scum right."

"Hey!" Camicazi shouted, pulling her wooden sword off her hip. "You got a problem with Vikings?!"

To Jack's immense surprise, Merida backed off.

"Force of habit. Sorry," Merida said holding up her hands. "I'm just mad at Hiccup and his new friends."

"They are from his island," Jack pointed out, though he was a bit bummed out that Hiccup couldn't break away from them long enough to hang out with him and Merida, too.

"We were his friends first!" Merida snapped. "We stuck by him when he was powerless and now, just 'cause he's some hero on Berk, they accept him and he chose them! I tried to be nice. I tried to play along, but they shut me out."

"I know about that," Camicazi said, putting her sword away. "Why do you think I'm helping Jack and not Astrid? Coming from Hogwarts first made me an outsider among the other Vikings at Durmstrang. Well, that and the fact that most of our tribes are at war. They didn't exactly shun me, but it was clear that I wasn't wanted. We never became as close as Jack and I were."

Jack looked down guiltily. Would she still feel like that once she knew the truth? Maybe now was the time to tell her, before it could be used against him, right after she admitted she liked him more than her Durmstrang friends. And if she reacted negatively, well, Merida was standing right there. She could help in a fight. It wasn't like there was any use in waiting for Hiccup.

"Um … Camicazi … I need to say-" Jack was interrupted as the door flew open and Rapunzel rushed in.

"I've got it!" Rapunzel said, plopping down in the chair next to Jack.

"What?" Merida asked. Rapunzel excitedly picked up the egg.

"I know how to open it!" Rapunzel said. "Put it in water!"

"Water?" Jack asked.

"Yes!" Rapunzel said. "Hans said it would open in the opposite environment. You found it in the mountain air, so it must open under water!"

"Worth a shot," Merida said. She pulled out her wand and conjured a bowl and water. They placed the egg inside it, but nothing happened.

"Do I have to stick my head in or anything?" Jack asked.

Rapunzel's brow creased, "Hans didn't say anything about that."

"Maybe he was pulling your leg," Merida suggested. "I don't like that boy. I bet he was trying to get you to sabotage Jack. For all we know, he could have made that up, hoping Jack will spend the next few weeks until the second task on a wild goose chase."

"Hans isn't that bad," Rapunzel said defensively. Jack stared at the water. Opposite environment. He found the egg up on the mountain. In the mountain air … and the mountain snow. He knew what the opposite of snow was.

"Maybe it's not a trick," Jack said carefully. He picked up the egg and walked it over to the fireplace. A quick blast from his wand and it was lit. He placed the egg in the flames.

A few moments later, there was a popping sound as the egg cracked. Camicazi had enough sense to call, "GET DOWN!"

The students followed her advice as the egg blew, blowing a scroll out. Merida caught it in the air.

"Oh great, a stupid riddle," Merida said reading it.

"It's my prize," Jack said, taking it from her. Quickly, he skimmed the riddle, then threw the paper aside. "I'm doomed. I couldn't even figure out how to open the egg. How am I supposed to solve a such a long winded stupid riddle."

"Maybe I can get Hans to help?" Rapunzel suggested.

"Yeah right," Merida replied. "He wants to win for his school."

"Well, he's helped before!" Rapunzel snapped back.

"Yeah, and don't you find that suspicious?" Camicazi asked. "Why is he helping? He's probably up to something."

"He's … He's just nice," Rapunzel said, a slight tremble in her voice.

"If I'd been chosen as the champion, I sure wouldn't be sharing tips with my competition," Merida said.

"It's not like I helped him, either," Jack added, thinking of Gothel's concern that Hans might be after something more than the championship.

Rapunzel, however, took offense to their remarks.

"Is it so hard for you all to believe that someone might like me more than a stupid competition?" Rapunzel snapped. "Hans shared those things with me because he knows I'm friends with Jack. He wanted to help! He doesn't keep secrets from me … unlike you. You were so obsessed with what Hiccup was doing at the beginning of the year, and now none of you will talk to me about it. I wouldn't mind if it were just Hiccup keeping secrets, but apparently he told the both of you and not me! Figure out the stupid riddle on your own, I'm going back to someone who doesn't shut me out."

Rapunzel turned and fled as she started to cry.

"Rapunzel, wait!" Jack called going after her, but it was no use, she'd disappeared down the hall. Jack sighed and went back to the club room.

"What's Hiccup doing?" Camicazi asked. Merida and Jack shared a look.

"He really wouldn't like it if we told you," Merida said finally. "The chief of his tribe made him promise to keep it secret."

Camicazi raised an eyebrow, but didn't push. Jack sat back down, feeling more guilty than ever. He hadn't even noticed that they never filled Rapunzel in about the dragons. No wonder she wound up hanging out with Hans. They'd been terrible friends. Solving the riddle and figuring out how to deal with Camicazi's prejudice could wait. He had to make things right with Rapunzel, or soon he would have no friends left at all.

* * *

Gothel watched Rapunzel crying on her bed. The girl hadn't been this upset in a long time.

"Feel like telling me what's wrong?" Gothel prodded. Rapunzel let out a soft whimper. Gothel didn't bother correcting her for mumbling this time. If Rapunzel was upset by the school, she had a better shot at convincing the girl to come back to the tower.

Gothel sat down on the bed and pulled up the girl's head so she was leaning on her shoulder.

"Come on, dear," Gothel tried, stroking her hair, "Mummy will make everything better. Just tell me."

Rapunzel sniffled, "It … It's Jack and Merida ..."

Gothel's eyes lit up, she was glad Rapunzel had her face buried in the cloth of her dress, "I told you those two were no good."

"No. I mean … they weren't trying to hurt me … but it still hurts."

"What did they do?" Gothel attempted. If she could spin it so that they were trying to hurt Rapunzel, she could get Rapunzel back to the tower.

"They tried to say Hans was up to something."

Gothel paused. She'd nearly forgotten the addition of Hans. She didn't like him any more than the other two. But if she tried to vilify Jack and Merida, she might inadvertently exonerate Hans, and then she'd be back to square one. Before Gothel could decide which way to push Rapunzel, there was a knock on the door.

She left Rapunzel on the bed and went to answer it. In the infirmary stood Jack Frost. Before Rapunzel could see, Gothel stepped out and shut the door.

"How dare you come here after hurting her," Gothel said. Jack looked down at his feet.

"I came to apologize," he said softly.

"She's been in her room crying for the last hour, thanks to you!" Gothel said forcefully.

"I'm sorry," Jack whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Tell her … tell her, I didn't mean to exclude her … It just didn't occur to me to tell her."

Gothel's eyes narrowed. What he was apologizing for didn't sound like what Rapunzel was upset about. Was her flower lying to her?

"Tell me what's going on, and I'll let her know about your apology," Gothel demanded, taking the upper hand.

"We … we were trying to convince her Hans was suspicious, like you thought, but it got a little out of hand. Rapunzel made me realize I forgot to tell her certain things. I'm willing to share now, if she'll forgive me."

"I'll tell her," Gothel said, stepping back into the room. She peeked one last time into the infirmary. Jack sat down on a bed. He had no intention of leaving. She shut the door before Rapunzel could see him. Luckily, the girl had her head buried in a pillow, and hadn't seemed to notice Gothel leaving.

Slowly, Gothel walked over to her, and started to stroke her hair, "My dear … are you certain you're mad at them for what they said about Hans?"

"W...What do you mean?" Rapunzel sniffed.

"I mean, maybe you're mad at them because they kept secrets from you."

"What? How did you know?"

"I'm your mother," Gothel said. "I know everything. I've tried to protect you from things like this. Had you stayed in the tower, you wouldn't be in this pain. But you wouldn't listen to me. You didn't believe that Mother knows best. You went out on your own, and now you've found out what it's like when your friends betray you. Don't give them the chance to hurt you again."

Rapunzel stopped crying, staring into space, thinking over what Gothel said, no doubt. Gothel left Rapunzel to her thoughts and went back out to Jack. He stood as she approached.

"Rapunzel doesn't want a thing to do with you," Gothel said coldly. "She refused your apology, and says she never wants to see you again."

"That's not true," Jack said back. "Even if she was mad at me, she wouldn't say that. She needs friends and, thanks to you, I'm one of the only ones she's got!"

Gothel slapped Jack across his face, then grabbed his arm.

"You have no right! I've taken care of her all her life. I've protected her. Cared for her. And you, you come in here to challenge me. To tell me I'm doing it wrong."

"You kidnapped her!" Jack snapped.

"The king stole MY flower. It belonged to me, so I took it back!" Gothel let go of Jack, shoving him to the floor. She coldly said, "Besides, I've tried to do right by her. You were the one who drove her home _to_ _me_ in tears. You and your friends are the ones who lead her into danger with alarming regularity. I ought to tell the king about you. Maybe he would have you arrested for the amount of pain you caused her! Hm … I do wonder what the king would think if he found that an elf was attending Hogwarts with his daughter. Surely a mongrel like you would never stand a chance if brought to court. Who would listen to a half-human? Especially after all the years of service I've given. No one would ever believe you. I bet I could even get you hanged, and what would happen to your family them? Now, go and I won't suggest that Rapunzel write to her parents and demand your arrest."

Jack stared at Gothel for a moment, no doubt trying to figure out if she was lying, but Gothel was very good at lying. She wasn't going to let a teenage boy see past her mask. Eventually, he looked away.

"Fine," Jack sighed. "If she wants to talk, I'll be on the lake."

Gothel smirked as the boy walked away. She finally had her flower all to herself. Now, if only she could convince Rapunzel to return to the tower.

* * *

 **A/N: Guest who asked about Jarida. The only pairings I have committed to are the cannon pairings. This is not a shipping story, in fact, the last chapter was probably the most romantic that I'm ever going to write (At least until the Tangled One Shot). I have been writing in hints of a possible JackxMerida relationship, but at this time, I don't intend to explore it. If you ship Jarida, you can imagine them hooking up off screen. And if you don't, then they're just good friends. Of course, I have not written most of the text for years 6 and 7 yet, so this is subject to change.**


	17. Mending the Bond

Merida fired her arrows at trees as she waited in the woods. She was very close to the dragons but she couldn't see them. She could just feel the heat. It was the only spot in the whole forest that wasn't covered in snow.

Finally, her target appeared. Astrid walked down the path, axe in hand. She was mumbling to herself. Merida glanced nervously at the axe. She was sure the Viking girl knew how to use it, but Merida was never one to back down from a challenge.

She pulled her arrows out of the tree and approached Astrid.

"Hey!" Merida called.

"What do you want!" Astrid said, swinging her axe around to threaten Merida. Merida kept her head.

"I … I just wanted to apologize to you," Merida said. "I brought you a peace offering and I promise this won't turn you into a bear."

Astrid raised an eyebrow as Merida pulled out a keet. Not a magic keet, she'd had her fill of those. This was just a small pastry Merida got from Attilla's shop. She had considered putting a friendship spell on it, but decided not to mess with magic she wasn't sure about ever again.

"Why?" Astrid asked suspiciously.

"Because Hiccup is my friend, and it's almost his birthday," Merida said, putting the keet down on a boulder. "It was for the sake of Hiccup's twelfth birthday that I made up with Jack Frost. I suppose I ought to do the same for his sixteenth. Besides, it was recently pointed out to me that I should like, or at least give a chance to, anyone who Hiccup likes. I didn't mean to make you feel unwelcome at Hogwarts. But for years we've been getting stories of Hiccup being bullied on Berk. He always brushed it off, but we came to visit once, and none of you seemed to really welcome him. And now you're here, and he fits in just fine … I guess … I guess we were a little upset that we stood by him for the years he was a failure, while you and your Vikings only came around after he became a celebrity. But I didn't mean to make this harder for Hiccup, so I'd like to bury the hatchet."

Merida glanced nervously at Astrid's axe. She'd hoped her request was diplomatic enough. She'd almost asked her mum for help, but in the end decided it would be stronger coming from herself.

After a minute, Astrid did put down the axe and took the keet.

"Alright," Astrid said. "I accept your apology, and I guess we were kind of jerks to Hiccup. Especially Snotlout, though he's a jerk to everyone. I suppose I didn't like it that Hiccup told you about the dragons. I thought they were _our_ thing."

"Well, if it makes a difference," Merida said, feeling the ice break, "he didn't exactly tell me. I kinda secretly followed him under an invisibility cloak."

"Me, too, without the cloak," Astrid confessed. Merida smiled. Maybe she _could_ be friends with Astrid. Merida vowed to do whatever it takes to keep her friendship with Hiccup going.

* * *

Rapunzel was still a little upset about her recent fight with Jack, Merida and Camicazi, but nowhere near as much as she had been. When she came downstairs the Monday after the fight, she was all ready to make up.

Gothel had tried to convince her to come back to the tower, but Rapunzel wasn't having it. She'd rather have a lot of good times and a few fights than the isolation. Besides, she could handle her emotions. She had to convince Mother of that. She wasn't as weak as Mother said.

Rapunzel spotted Jack during breakfast. She tried to sit closer to him, but he didn't glance her way once. She wasn't too surprised. All the Slytherin girls were crowded around him.

After breakfast, she tried to make her way to him but couldn't manage it. The other girls kept getting in her way … and was it her imagination or was Jack going faster than normal? Probably just trying to get away from his groupies, Rapunzel hoped. He didn't like Divination all that much. She couldn't think of another reason he'd be hurrying.

During the lesson, Rapunzel did manage to snag a seat next to Jack. But Malika didn't give them a chance to talk as she started explaining about the star alignments and prophecy.

Though unable to talk, Rapunzel could see something was wrong. Jack's face was even whiter than usual, his skin gaunt over it. And his eyes were dark, as though he hadn't slept well. If she didn't know him, she might have thought he'd just gotten over a long sickness.

When class came to an end, Jack jumped out of his seat, nearly flying down the stairs. Rapunzel was quick to follow. She pulled out the end of her braid and whipped it around, catching Jack's foot, stopping him.

"You look terrible," Rapunzel said. "Is something wrong?"

Jack turned away from her, "I'm fine."

"No you aren't," Rapunzel said. Taking his hand, she pulled him into an empty room, "Tell me."

Jack scowled, "I'm just tired."

Rapunzel brushed back her hair, "I've seen you when you were tired. You look worse today. I'm not mad about our fight anymore. I know you were just trying to look out for me."

"I .. I know, Rapunzel," Jack sighed. "You never stay mad for long. I've just got a lot on my mind. And I am sorry for not telling you about Hiccup."

"It's okay. He's allowed to have secrets, I know," Rapunzel said. "It just hurts that he told you and Merida."

"Well, he didn't actually tell us. We sort of followed him, then were sworn to secrecy. I don't think Hiccup meant to keep it from you. I'll show you..." A clock chimed in the school. Jack winced, "... when I don't have class."

Rapunzel agreed and the two split up, going up to class. She smiled, glad to have made up, though she still wasn't sure what upset him. Oh well, she didn't want to push him too much. They had a lot of time. Besides, he was probably still trying to figure out the riddle. Rapunzel knew she didn't have any ideas about it. Maybe Hans would help him figure it out.

* * *

Maximus sniffed the ground outside Hogwarts. He knew that scent. Two years ago, Rapunzel had entrusted him to find the owner of that scent. The one his rider called Flynn Rider. When Rapunzel had first asked him to chase Flynn he hadn't known why.

He'd faithfully followed her instructions, tracking the man wherever he went. It was not long before he realized that the man was a thief. He assumed Rapunzel had wanted the thief captured. Perhaps the man stole something of hers. Or maybe she just liked justice.

But then last year, she'd asked him to switch his directive. She needed him to find her friend Jack. He was more successful in that quest. And afterwards he'd been reunited with his owner, the Captain of the Guard.

The Captain put a stop to his independent searches for Flynn. Since Rapunzel no longer seemed concerned with the thief, Maximus hadn't tried to run off. But when he was patrolling his normal duties, like now, and got a whiff of him, he couldn't help but follow.

"Maximus!" the Captain of the Guard yelled. Maximus assumed the point position as the Guard came up to him, "What is it boy?"

Maximus tried to gesture in the direction the thief had taken, but the Guard just shook his head. Maximus never understood why that man was in charge. He supposed he was smart, for a human. But honestly, a horse would make a better leader. They had better senses of smell, and sharper reflexes. The Captain kept falling all over himself. The only advantage he had was that he could speak to other humans. But the Queen said that the Captain was in charge, and so Maximus must follow her orders.

The Guard pulled at Maximus's reins. Reluctantly, the horse left Flynn's scent unfollowed. As they began walking back towards the school, Maximus heard a scream. A scream he recognized. _Rapunzel._

Without waiting for his owner, Maximus darted off into the forest after her. He found the girl in a clearing. She was standing still with fright. Behind her, the boy Jack had his hand clamped over her mouth. And in front of her, were five dragons. Maximus squared his shoulders. He'd never fought a dragon before, but he would not let harm come to his mistress.

He was about to approach, when he heard his rider coming up behind him.

"Holy Hephaestus!" the man cried. "Don't worry, Princess! I'll save you!"

The man pulled his sword out of his scabbard and walked on trembling legs towards the beasts. Maximus rolled his eyes and was about to jump in front of him when Jack beat him to it.

"No!" Jack said, holding up his staff, creating a strong wind that blew the horse and soldier back.

"These are tamed dragons," Jack explained. "They aren't dangerous."

"Yes …" Rapunzel said, recovering from her shock. She looked back at the dragons. A small sleek black one came up and sniffed her. Rapunzel looked nervous, but let the dragon approach. "I'm sorry I screamed. They just took me by surprise."

"Your Highness," the Captain said, "these are dragons! They cannot be trusted. Dragons are mindless killers. They would sooner eat you than be tamed."

"Oh yeah?" Jack said. "Then explain how they all got saddles. Did the moon do it?"

As Jack said it, Maximus noticed that the dragons indeed were wearing saddles. It gave the horse pause. He eyed the lead dragon. The black one smelling his mistress. The dragon took a step towards them.

The Captain of the Guard raised his sword threatening the dragon, but Maximus pushed it down with his front hoof. He obeyed the royal family first and foremost. And Princess Rapunzel seemed to like the dragons.

Cautiously, Maximus and the black dragon met in the middle of the clearing. They circled each other and sniffed. Finally, both backed away. Maximus gave a short nod to his owner. These dragons were okay. They would not harm the Princess. Even if the leader was a little too cat-like for Maximus's taste.

"You won't … tell anyone about this, will you?" Rapunzel asked, gently stroking the black dragon. He purred under her hand. Maximus shook his head. The princess's secrets were safe with him.

"But … your highness," the captain said.

Rapunzel turned her large green eyes on him,

"Please don't tell! My friend, well, one of my friends, he .. he might get in trouble. These dragons are so sweet, it's really not fair, he didn't even tell me, because-" Rapunzel cut herself off as she realized she was rambling. The black dragon licked her with his double tongue. Finally the guard sighed.

"I suppose, if the dragons are truly tamed, then I don't have to tell anyone. But you stay away from this place, Princess. The forest is no place for humans. Especially if dragons live here."

"Oh, I will," Rapunzel promised. "Now that I know, I'll be extra careful."

With that, Rapunzel and Jack skipped away. Maximus gave one last look at the dragons, most of whom were preening. He made eye contact with the black one. They had an understanding. The black one would keep the others in check. No harm would come to Rapunzel from the dragons.

The Guard was still having trouble processing all that transpired. It took Maximus picking him up by the collar of his shirt to get him away from the dragons. As Maximus returned to the spot he'd smelled Flynn, the guard kept babbling on about dragons. Maximus just shook his head in amusement.

* * *

Hiccup stared in shock at the two girls. For the past two weeks, Astrid and Merida had actually been getting along. He couldn't believe it. Now, they were on their last Hogsmeade trip before the second task, and they were all together. Rapunzel, Merida, Jack, Astrid, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Snotlout. With Hiccup. On his sixteenth birthday.

The Vikings were really loving the ex-Vikings' pub. Their food was just tasteless enough to feel like Berk's food.

"So, you had to turn down three suitors?" Astrid said as Merida finished her story. "And I thought it was annoying having to turn down Snotlout."

"Hey!" Snotlout said, as he stopped admiring his appearance in the serving platter. The two girls ignored him.

"I don't know if the suitors are so bad," Rapunzel said. "They were pretty nice about helping me."

"Speaking of suitors," Merida said, "where's yours?"

"Hans is not my suitor," Rapunzel said, blushing. "We're just friends."

"You mean that tall hunky guy who's always hanging around isn't your boyfriend?" Ruffnutt asked.

"No!" Rapunzel said. "We're just friends."

"You might wanna check that," Fishlegs said. "You know it's common in dragon mating cycles for the males to follow the female around until she chooses one."

"And you know this how?" Astrid asked. "You didn't even notice that your dragon was a girl."

"I did not. But the Book of Dragons contains some information about mating. I think Bork was hoping to stop the mating - less to kill if less are born."

"Wow, a whole book of dragons," a girl said.

Hiccup looked up. It was the girl Jack took to the dance, Heather. She stood at the end of their table.

"You're interested in the Book of Dragons?" Astrid asked.

"Of … of course," she said, forcing her way onto the end of the booth. "I've seen a lot of dragons. It's just natural to be curious, right? I'd love to see your book."

"I guess I could show it to you," Hiccup said.

"Do you really wanna start this again?" Astrid said, slamming her mug down.

"Come on, it's fine," Hiccup said.

"What about what your dad said?" Tuffnutt asked.

"Dad's not here," Hiccup said, "and anyway, I already broke the stupid rule three times. I'm sure Dad didn't mean to keep it from foreigners, just archipelago people."

Jack looked up in surprise, but said nothing. Hiccup pulled the book out of his satchel and handed it to Heather. The girl looked in wonder at the book. Merida, Jack and Rapunzel all leaned over her shoulder to look at the book.

"Hiccup, I really don't think this is wise," Astrid said. Heather handed the book back.

"Thanks for letting me look," Heather said. "I just wish I could see a dragon in real life."

"I might be able to-"

"Hiccup!" Astrid yelled. Hiccup winced. He didn't want to make her mad, but at the same time, he totally understood the burning curiosity. The need to know. Every time he'd seen Heather, she'd asked about dragons. He understood how the obsession could take over.

"Astrid, it's fine. You're just jealous," Hiccup said. Astrid's eyes flashed. She stood up forcefully.

"That's it! I'm out!" She gave the table a shove, knocking Hiccup out of his seat.

Hiccup got up. Merida eyed him.

"Are you really that dense?" Merida said.

"What?" Hiccup said. "She _is_ jealous. First with you, now with Heather. Wouldn't be surprising if Camicazi got hit with it next, even though I've hardly spoken with her."

Hiccup started to go after Astrid, but Merida held him back.

"I think you should give her some time," Merida said. "There aren't a lot of girls on Berk. She's just not used to having to compete with others for your affection."

"She doesn't have to compete!" Hiccup said. "I never cared about the girls at Hogwarts, not like I cared about her."

"I'll tell her," Merida promised. "Come on Rapunzel, Ruffnut, Heather. Let's go have a girl's night out."

"What about us?" Tuffnut asked.

"Keep Hiccup out of trouble," Merida commanded. Tuffnut and Snotlout got an evil look in their eyes as they grinned. Hiccup most definitely did not like the way they were eyeing him. If they hadn't been friends, he might have been scared.

* * *

Merida led the way following Astrid's trail.

"Are you sure I should be in on this?" Heather said. "The fight was sort of my fault. I didn't mean to drive a wedge between them."

"And that's why you need to apologize," Merida said, "I was the cause of the last fight between them. I apologized, it made everything better. Now you're going to do the same."

Heather looked a little nervous but with Rapunzel and Ruffnut behind her, she didn't try to bolt. Merida spotted Camicazi by the candy shop and invited her along. Might as well get all the girls. They found Astrid by the forest.

"Go away," she yelled,

"Hiccup thinks you're jealous!"

"Gee, I had no idea," Astrid retorted sarcastically.

"That's why you need to prove him wrong!" Merida called. Astrid stopped in her tracks. Merida smiled, "Spend time with Heather, with us, away from the boys. If you still feel suspicious, then we go back and tell Hiccup to shove it."

Astrid considered it for a minute, finally she nodded, "Okay. But only if I have my axe."

Merida smiled and cast the summoning spell for her bow and arrows. She couldn't imagine a more perfect day than throwing axes and shooting arrows with a bunch of girls and heck, maybe, if she made good friends with Astrid, she could help Jack solve his riddle. The tournament was fast approaching, and he had no idea what the riddle meant.

* * *

Flynn, the Stabbington brothers, and Rocky reached Jack's town in early March. It shouldn't have taken so long. The distance between the school and the small village should have only been one month's worth of walking. But Rocky was so heavy, and being just a child, he was pretty slow, too. Plus the Stabbington brothers kept stopping to rob people, and they had to avoid hostile muggles. All in all, it took quite a while to reach the small village.

"What are we doing here again?" one of the brothers asked.

"Relax, my good man. There's a woman here who has something we'll need to find the valuables."

"Take us to her," he said, both brothers grinning.

Flynn sighed. He hadn't wanted the brothers to come into town with him, but they were suspicious. They wouldn't let him go alone. It was all he could do to keep them from knowing the living rock was really a troll. He didn't want to leave them alone together.

A quick look around town center didn't reveal anything. All the houses looked pretty much the same. But then Flynn spotted a girl carrying a bucket of water. He signaled for the brothers to stay a pace behind as he approached her.

"Excuse me, Miss," Flynn said, "has anyone ever told you that your eyes sparkle like the sky?"

The girl blushed and gripped her bucket tightly.

Flynn continued to pour out the smolder, "You are the most lovely vision I have seen in nearly two months, ever since I first saw the sun setting upon an undisturbed winter paradise. May I just say, Hi. Names' Flynn. Can I help ya with that?"

The girl chuckled and let Flynn pick up her bucket. He carried it to her house.

"So, I'm looking for a friend of mine. Well, his house. Know anyone by the name of Frost?"

Instantly, the girl backed away. If she'd been carrying her water, she would have spilled it.

"You're looking for him, for Jack?" the girl said, her eyes wide. "You're not one of them, are you?"

"Uh, not sure what you mean, but I'm looking for his mom."

"A witch," the girl whispered. "We're not supposed to speak with them."

"Oh. Well, I am a wizard. But my companions aren't. If you could just point me to the Frost house, I'll leave you alone."

"It's down by the lake," the girl pointed back the way she had come. "I'm not as scared of witches as my parents are. Especially if they're all as attractive as you and Jack. But I can't let my mother know I talked with one."

"Then thank you for your help." Flynn set her bucket of water down. "I'd better get going."

Flynn and the Stabbington brothers walked to the lake and found the tiny cabin with ease.

Flynn knocked on the door. A woman with sad brown eyes opened it. Before Flynn could stop them, the Stabbington brothers pushed their way into the house.

"What do you want?" the woman said, stepping behind a table, her voice trembling.

"Lady, we want whatever you got," Stabbington said, menace in his voice. Flynn glanced back outside. The sun was setting.

"Look boys, it's almost sundown. Why don't you crash here tonight. We can set off in the morning."

The brothers took the suggestion, taking over the mat by the fireplace. Flynn went to the woman.

"I'm sorry about this," Flynn whispered.

"What's going on?" the woman asked.

"I'm a friend, Jack Frost sent me," Flynn pulled out the cloak Jack had let him keep. The woman clutched it to her chest. Flynn continued, "I made those thieves think you had something valuable so they would let me come. I didn't know they'd threaten you like that. If you could just give me something, anything. A rock. A piece of cloth. I'll lie to them and say it's magical and we'll be out of your hair."

"You can stay until morning," the woman said. "My son, is he alright?"

"Yes, Jack is fine. At least he was on Christmas. He hasn't gotten any letters from you. He asked me to check in. Make sure you and his sister were okay. Where is the girl? I've heard a lot about her."

"Emma is missing," the woman said as she started to cry.

* * *

Jack looked out over the lake on the day of the challenge. He would never know how Merida managed it, but somehow, through her newfound friendship with Astrid, she was able to get the solution to the riddle. It was a potion. One of Jack's worst subjects. Merida had made him practice it for hours, but he still always got it wrong. He took it off the fire too early, or he took too long to crush the porcupine quills and added them too late. Assuming he had the right ingredients in the first place.

He was still worried that Astrid might have given Merida the wrong potion. Even if it wasn't intentional, Astrid just didn't seem like potions was her thing. But both Hiccup and Rapunzel had agreed with her solution, so Jack decided to trust their judgment. Camicazi had suggested that they might both be working for the other champions, which Jack might have agreed with if Camicazi hadn't immediately followed it with the suggestion that an Ice Elf was trying to infiltrate the school.

But finally the day of the challenge arrived. The Guardians had caused an island to grow in the center of the lake. Somewhere on the island was the prize they were all looking for.

Jack took a breath as the winds started to stir the waters. Next to him, Astrid used a spell to turn a log into a sail boat. On the other side of the lake, Hans was preparing to swim.

Jack thought for a moment. He could swim, too. It wouldn't be too hard. The island wasn't that far away, but that would wash away the hair dye that was making his hair brown. His white hair would reveal his true nature.

He could summon his staff and fly to the island. But Jack didn't feel it was right. Not now. He flew differently from others. He didn't want to look like he was cheating. And that left the easiest thing in the world. Walking across the water by freezing it.

All he had to do was put his foot on the water. But what would Camicazi think if she saw?

The horn signaling the start of the race sounded. Astrid set off in her boat. Hans dove into the water. Jack took a deep breath. He could hear the cheering crowd. Most of them were Hogwarts students. They needed him to win.

But he couldn't do it. Even knowing that most of them knew he was half-elf, and Camicazi would leave at the end. He couldn't push past the fear. Until he heard the strangled cry. He looked across the lake.

Hans was struggling in the water. He reached up, grasping for any logs or debris in the water, before plunging into the lake again. Jack didn't hesitate. He forgot all about his fears and ran across the lake. The water froze under his feet, the wind pushed at his back even without his staff to control it, helping him go faster, until he reached the spot where Hans had disappeared. Jack dove in.

A giant squid was under the water, it had wrapped itself around Hans's legs. Jack swam down. He touched the squid's tentacles, coating them in frost, before grabbing Hans and hauling him up to the surface but Jack didn't have the strength to pull Hans onto the ice bridge. Instead, he froze the water under Hans. It floated to the surface, taking Hans with it. Jack made the ice under the boy extra thick before he continued on to the island. Astrid's' boat was crashed against the rocks. No sign of the girl.

Jack went on. Well, his secret was out. He'd just have to deal with it. Maybe he could lie to Camicazi? Tell her the water dyed his hair white? But it did nothing to Hans. And it would be evident to everyone that he'd frozen the lake. Jack pushed away the thoughts. There was no use in focusing on what people might think. He has a challenge. The island wasn't too difficult for him. A few trees, lots of bushes and ferns. Jack started out over the rocky terrain.

Every so often, he'd spot one of the ingredients that Merida said went into the potion he was supposed to make. He quickly shoved them in his pocket. After an hour or two of walking around the island, he still hadn't found whatever prize would end the competition, but he had all the ingredients for the potion. Jack settled down. He was starting to get hungry and tired. How long was this challenge supposed to last?

Jack conjured a cauldron. He might as well make the potion, seeing as he didn't have anything else to do. And at least it would give him a chance to sit down.

Jack crushed the ingredients and stirred the cauldron, praying he remembered all the right steps.

"First, add the powdered moonstones," Jack said to himself. "Then heat until it turns purple."

Jack waited. It felt like it took forever to reach the right color. Jack was usually impatient. He wanted to just hurry up and finish so he could go do something fun. But this time he forced himself to wait it out. He had to get this right. Just pretend that this was going to be on the O.W.L.s.

Jack suddenly started to laugh. Since when did he think a test was less stressful than a game? All the fighting, all the jealousy and worry were starting to get to him. He hadn't seen Pitch in a while. That was good, right? The monster had better things to do than stalk him.

Jack kept trying to laugh about things as he completed the potion. Just as he was pouring it into a flask, he heard a sound in the bushes. Jack glanced back. He didn't see anything. Then there was a noise again. Jack froze. It was louder this time.

"Hans? Astrid?" Jack called. The creepy noises continued. The sky was getting dark, casting deep shadows over the island. Jack got up, his heart pounding. He wished he had his staff during this challenge. He could have used it for defense. Nevertheless, Jack knew he had to do this without it. He cautiously made his way toward the noise. Maybe he was supposed to take the potion? If Astrid had been right, it was a calming potion. Maybe that was the trick. Brew the potion, then you'll be calm enough to see the prize. But Jack wasn't really fond of taking potions. Not after the way Pitch made him drink them as punishment. Even though Jack knew the calming potion might help, he wasn't keen on trying it.

And then he saw her. Sprawled out on a grassy knoll was his little sister, and she was pale as death.

* * *

 **A/N: DemigodseaMeg16: No the deadly flower was not referring to Jack's special prize. That will come up later ;). The potion Jack makes is actually the Draught of Peace, each clue corresponds with one listed in one of the HP video games. (According to the HP wiki)**


	18. The Second Task

"Missing?" Flynn asked Jack's mother. Looks like Jack was right to be worried about his family.

"Yes. Since September something has been lurking around our house. I'm not sure what it is. Some sort of magical monster. Every time we went out of the house, it stalked us. And it chased away anyone who came near. The townsfolk were already avoiding us, but this beast made it worse. We never saw it, it always stayed in the shadows. It was just a feeling. I told Emma to stay in the house. I only went out to get food. But she didn't listen to me. Said Jack wouldn't want her to live in fear. A few days ago, she ran out of the house, I heard a scream, and then she was gone. I searched for hours. I even got some of the townspeople to help. They weren't really keen on it, but the pastor insisted that it was morally right to find a lost child."

"You haven't told Jack?"

"What can he do? I didn't want to worry him, to distract him from school. And I can't read or write. With the way the town is avoiding me, I couldn't bring myself to ask them to pen a letter to the only wizard in the village."

"I'm a wizard, ma'am. And I would like to help you find your girl. Can you help me distract these gents so I can look for her? Maybe there's a wizard spell that can be used to track the girl."

"Please, get my daughter back. I'll do whatever I can."

Flynn turned to the brothers.

"Hey boys, she's got to make the item we need. We're gonna crash here while she works. I'll go get some firewood."

Flynn hoped the Stabbington brothers wouldn't cause the muggle too much grief. The truth was, he didn't know how to find a missing child. There were a few spells to locate someone or something, but they leaned toward complex, and Flynn didn't know them off hand. He wasn't even sure if they could be used over long distances. When he'd seen them used before, they were always to find someone close by.

Flynn sank down on a rock near the cottage. How could he help the Frost family?

"Hey!" a muffled voice said. Flynn jumped up. Rocky materialized out of the rock Flynn had been sitting on.

"Sorry," Flynn said. He quickly explained the situation.

"So you need to find a kid?"

"Yes," Flynn confirmed.

"I may not be as good as Grand Pabbie but I know some troll magic. We don't usually do this for humans, but I can help."

"Really?" Flynn asked, his hope rising.

"Yeah. Just give me something that belonged to her. I can track it."

Flynn smiled. He would bring Jack's sister home. He would protect her, just like he promised.

* * *

Merida and her suitors watched as Astrid came back from the island victoriously. The first champion to have found the prize, another egg. This time, the egg was golden. Merida was glad they weren't fighting anymore, but still disappointed that Jack hadn't won. He wasn't even close. Astrid was cleaned off and treated for injuries before she joined the other Vikings. Merida went to congratulate her. Even if she had wanted Jack to win, she had to make sure that this competition didn't cost her her friendship with Hiccup. Besides, she was starting to like Astrid.

Her suitors followed at a short distance.

Merida held out her hand.

"Congratulations," Merida said. "Looks like you're on your way to making Durmstrang proud."

"They haven't released the score yet," Astrid shrugged.

"But there is a bonus for fastest back," Fishlegs pointed out, "and you didn't even have any flubs."

"Well, I don't know. I almost had a problem when I came across a vision of Stormfly with her head hacked off by my axe, but I took the calming potion, and found the egg. Too easy, really."

"Hans didn't even make it to the island," Hiccup informed her. "I hope Rapunzel took it well."

"Serves the bloody savage right," Young Macintosh said. "He was the Viking right?"

Merida wished he hadn't said that. Instantly, Astrid jumped up.

"No, I am!"

"Yeah, you got a problem with Vikings?" Snotlout yelled.

"You bet I do, when you come to a body's home an' burn it to th' ground," Macintosh said, turning up his nose.

"I wouldn't pillage your stinkin' home if you paid me to!" Astrid shouted back.

"Guys, cool it," Hiccup said.

"Are you seriously on their side?" Astrid demanded.

"No, of course not," Hiccup said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Don't tell me you're a savage, too," Wee Dingwall said.

"Vikings aren't savages," Hiccup said, standing with his tribe.

"Vikings are a plague on the earth and should be eradicated!" Macintosh said. Merida glanced towards MacGuffin. He was strangely silent. She knew he'd scuttled Viking ships before. But he was also shy, and he'd grown to be friends with Hiccup.

"SHUT IT!" Merida shouted, "Yes, Hiccup and his friends are Vikings, but just look at them. Do they look like the kind of people who would pillage Scotland?"

Maybe not her best idea, as the Vikings were a little riled up and had their weapons out. How did they get so many so fast anyway? Still, the pause gave the whole group time to calm down.

"See, Vikings are just like us," Merida said. "And anyway, the adults in Hiccup's tribe haven't left the village in, what, three hundred years? They weren't the Vikings that attacked Scotland when I was a girl. Instead of fighting now, why don't you all make bets on the tournament. We've got one challenge left. At least, if Jack ever makes it back."

The lords' sons calmed down and, after a few minutes, the Vikings put away their weapons. Merida gave a sigh of relief. There was still some tension between the groups, but Merida knew that with time she could help them heal. Just as she mended the rift between herself and her mum. She knew it was her destiny to heal the rift between the Scots and the Vikings. Now, if only Jack were with them.

* * *

Camicazi fumed in the Durmstrang tent. Everyone else was still watching the tournament, but she couldn't even think about watching him now.

How could she not have seen it? It was so obvious. All the jokes, all the fun. Just a distraction. Just trying to hide his true nature. But she could see clearly now. The lake water showed her the truth when it washed away the disguise.

"Well, my dear?" the shadow asked.

"I … I don't know," Camicazi said. "I mean, we were friends for a long time."

"He has never been your friend," the shadow replied. "From the beginning he was lying to you. Don't you remember how the others tried to convince you not to mess with him? How they tried to warn you?"

"No one said what he was," Camicazi replied.

"They didn't know. Not then. Not in words. But they had the feeling. They could tell what lay under the surface. But you let him cloud your judgment with his laughter and joy. Don't you remember how he almost made you disappear? Remember, how he was never around during the mysterious disappearances?"

"But everyone was found."

"But they weren't the same, were they? Ice elves know that wizards are a superior creature. They know that the only way they can claim the spot is by reducing wizards to muggles. Like he tried to do with you. He only stopped to preserve his reputation when his friends almost found out. After all, he can't have more victims if he gets kicked out."

"But Jack, he just never seemed like a liar."

"Ask anyone here. They will all confirm that he has been known as an ice elf for the past year, and yet, in all that time, he never told you. If he weren't hiding something, why would he lie? He thinks he's better than you. Thinks he can trick a poor witch into believing anything he says. You cannot let him get away with it."

Camicazi's eyes hardened, "Don't worry, Professor Black, I won't."

* * *

Jack stared at the lifeless form of his sister. He bent down and took her hand, crying. This couldn't be her. She couldn't be dead. He touched her chest, but couldn't feel a heartbeat. It was just like his worst fears were coming true.

 _Wait_ , Jack thought, _Worst fears._

Jack took a step back. This was his worst fear. That his sister would die, especially if it was his fault. But this … this was supposed to be a game. A game set up by the Guardians. A game to teach people how to face their fears, and how to get along. They wouldn't really bring his sister here just so she could die, would they?

Could Pitch be behind this? Jack thought. None of the shadows seemed out of place. Well, if it wasn't real, and it wasn't Pitch, there was only one thing Jack could think of that would know about his sister. Jack picked up his wand.

" _Riddikulus_!" he shouted. Instantly, Emma got up and started to dance in Rapunzel's bigger shoes. Jack started to laugh. The girl stumbled and fell backwards.

"Ha!" Jack said. "No boggart will get the best of me."

The boggart changed shape, into a large spider, and crawled away. Jack was perfectly happy to let it go and continue his quest. Until he heard the scream. A girl's scream. He didn't know who else was on the island, but he suddenly remembered that boggarts change into your greatest fear. If the boggart changed from his sister into something else, it must have another target in mind. Astrid, maybe? Jack turned and went after it.

The spider was not targeting Astrid. There was a little girl, her legs stuck in a bog. The spider was crawling towards her. The girl had no wand, and from her heavy breathing, Jack could guess she was panicking.

" _Riddikulus_!" he called again, turning the boggart back into his sister. The little girl in the bog looked horrified. Jack noticed she was stuck up to her thighs. Wasn't it her knees a moment before? He ignored the boggart as it resumed being his sister's corpse. Instead, he froze the ground under his feet as he walked on the bog to the girl. He hauled her out onto the ice. She was trembling. The child couldn't have been more than ten, just a bit older than Emma. Her skin was pale from the cold. Jack pulled out his wand and lit a fire on the ground. Blue flames flared up. Jack carried the girl to the fire. He stepped to the other side keeping himself between the girl and the boggart.

The girl shook, near hyperventilation. Clearly the girl was panicking. Jack could throw a snowball at her. With the cheering charm trick, it might work. But he'd never used that on someone so close to panic before. He usually used it on angry or sad people.

"Sp .. Spider..." the girl stammered, "Co... Corpse."

"Shh," Jack said. "It's okay. I've got you."

"You …you're a witch," the girl said, horror in her voice.

"The proper term is wizard," Jack corrected. The girl scrambled backwards.

"Don't eat me!" she cried.

Jack stayed where he was, "Don't worry, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe. The boggart's being my fear now. It won't get you."

The girl's face turned pale as she looked past Jack at the corpse. She stood up, stepping backwards and tripped over a tree root, falling back into the bog. The girl screamed as she started to sink. She twisted and turned, struggling in the muck. Jack jumped up and grabbed her again. This time, the girl struggled against him, almost pulling him into the muck. His foot slipped in, and stuck. She would pull them both under.

Suddenly, an idea came to Jack. He pulled out the flask and grabbed the girl's face.

"Drink this, it will help," Jack commanded. The girl held still long enough for Jack to pour the liquid in her mouth. Instantly, she calmed down. Jack was able to use the leverage from his free leg to pull them out of the bog, back to the fire. He helped the girl sit next to the flames, then went to the other side, giving her space.

After a minute, the girl spoke, "Thank you. I don't know what came over me. I've just been on this island with that monster for so long … He made me think you were never going to come."

"You were waiting for me?"

"For someone," the girl whispered. "I woke up on Christmas and saw Santa in my house, leaving presents under the tree. He said I was on the naughty list, but if I helped him with some contest, he would put me on the nice list for the rest of my life. And I would always get the presents I wanted. I suppose I've always been a little greedy. Maybe that's how I got on the naughty list. But anyway, I agreed, and he said all I had to do was wait on this island. And, if anyone tried to help me, I was to give them this."

The girl pulled out a flower, just like the one the troll had given him. When he took it from her, it turned into glass, just like the other one. Jack stuffed it in his pocket.

"I wandered around the island, wondering who would come, and what kind of help they might give me, when I accidentally stepped into that bog and got stuck. And then the monster came. He turned into so many different things... so many things I was afraid of. Of the witches who attacked my village, of my horse rearing up, almost trampling me. Every so often, the monster would leave. I would hear a scream on the other side of the island. But then the thing came back. Until you defeated it."

"I didn't technically defeat it," Jack confessed, glancing back at the body of his sister. "I just didn't let the fear overtake me."

Jack stood up and cast the spell to retrieve the flames, then he reached down for the girl.

"What do you say we get off this island?"

"Am I allowed?" the girl asked.

"I can't imagine they meant to keep you here forever." Jack glanced up at the sky, the stars were coming out. "The others have probably already succeeded in the task. I bet it's over. I lost."

"What was the task?" the girl asked, holding Jack's hand.

"Oh, to find something, I think," Jack said, helping the girl climb down a hill.

"Was it a trunk?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, probably," Jack said. The girl let go of his hand and raced to the edge of a brook. She picked something up and came back with it. Jack tried to see what she was holding, but he couldn't make it out. Even as she came closer, it kept shifting forms, first a log, then a rock. Then the girl grabbed his hand, and he could feel. It was a trunk. It was under some kind of glamour spell. He found the latch and opened it. Inside was a golden egg. Jack took the egg in one hand, and the girl in the other, and they walked back across the lake.

* * *

By the time Jack finally made it back from the challenge, almost all the other students had disappeared. Only Merida and Rapunzel remained. Hiccup had tried to stay at first, but he got an owl from his father. Apparently they had a problem on his island with one of the villagers called Mildew accusing the dragons of burning down the weapon store. Hiccup left to go see if he could figure out a solution with his Dragon Riders.

When she saw Jack, Rapunzel darted out into the lake. Merida and the Guardians followed shortly.

"Took yer time on this one, din't yeh," Bunny said, giving Jack and the little girl blankets.

"Ah, you found girl!" North proclaimed. "And you, miss, are free to go."

Sandman sent a stream of dream sand to the girl, then North threw a snow globe at her feet. There was a swirl and she disappeared.

"What kind of stunt was that?" Jack demanded, turning on the judges. "It's one thing to terrorize the champions, we volunteered. But picking on an innocent kid?"

"The child volunteered," North said, "and she was not so innocent. Always setting traps for fairies, never going to bed on time. And very mean to younger brother. Gives massive headache for parents."

"Still, putting kids in danger?" Jack said. "I thought you were supposed to be the good guys."

"Relax," Tooth said. "The girl was never in danger. Manny was watching the whole time. And you were there to save her."

"She was stuck in a bog being terrorized by a boggart, probably for hours!" Jack yelled, "All this time, my friends and I looked up to you. 'The Guardians will protect us', we thought. Well, now I know, you don't protect anyone."

Bunny glared at Jack, "How dare you! We're trying to save the world from a war. We have to train you kids to fight Pitch."

"Bunny!" Tooth said forcefully, flying up.

"No. No, where does this kid get off criticizing us. We have to protect childhood! Got it? All of childhood. Infant through seventeen for every kid on earth. You try it sometime, why don't yeh? I ought to flunk you from Transfiguration for that."

"Bunny!" Ombric said holding up his hands. "This school encourages free thinking. Even if they are thinking negative thoughts about us. You will not let this conversation affect his grade."

"Yeah, whatever," Bunny said, hopping off.

"Sorry about him. He's still a little sore on you for making a snowstorm last Easter. I admit, I am also a little disappointed in your lack of belief in us," Ombric added.

"Well, what do you expect?" Jack said. "You let Pitch be my head of house for three years, you almost didn't believe us when we tried to tell you about him. You let me get kidnapped last year. And now, you subject a muggle to hours of fear, just to see if one of the champions will help her? You aren't any better than Pitch."

Jack stormed back to the castle and sank down against the wall in the entry hall. Rapunzel and Merida followed him.

He was shaking.

"You realize you probably won't win now," Merida said.

"I don't care," Jack said. "Leaving that kid with a boggart ... it was cruel. She didn't even get the luxury of a stationary boggart like mine."

"Stationary? I thought your boggart was your dad," Rapunzel said.

"It used to be until I met him. I'm not afraid of what he might be anymore. Just disappointed. This time it was my sister's corpse. But not for that little girl. She had a lot of fears. She was so scared."

"Is that what the calming potion was for?" Rapunzel asked. Jack shrugged.

"I guess. She found the prize right after."

"Astrid found the prize right after taking the potion, too," Merida said, "but she got back a lot sooner."

"I spoke with Hiccup about that," Rapunzel said. "Apparently, she made her potion ahead and brought it with her. She didn't have to brew it on the island."

"What about Hans?" Jack asked.

"He was out for a bit after you saved him from the squid. By the time he got up, your ice bridge had melted and Astrid had already come back. He wasn't keen on getting back into the water with the squid, especially, as it turns out, with a sprained wrist, so he signaled for rescue," Rapunzel explained. "He's a bit upset that he didn't finish, but he understood when I left him in the hospital wing to watch you."

"So, I got second place?" Jack asked, a spark of hope in his eyes.

"Until you yelled at the judges," Merida pointed out. "They'll probably disqualify you for that."

Jack sighed, "I know. But it's not in my nature to be docile. I'm not just going to sit back and let kids be terrorized. Myself, okay, I probably deserve it. But not other kids."

Rapunzel and Merida shared a worried glance. Rapunzel wished her hair could heal emotional pain. Unfortunately, she knew from all the times Mother put her down that it wouldn't. She'd have to help Jack the old fashioned way.

"It's late, Jack," Rapunzel said. "You've missed dinner. Why don't the three of us go get some sandwiches from the kitchens?"

Jack gave a weak smile and agreed to it. She would help him feel better. She had to try.

"Anyway," Rapunzel said, helping Jack to stand, "the other girl is safe now and your sister was never in any danger."

* * *

Emma shivered in her dark prison. The walls felt like they were made of ice. Her thin cloak did little to keep her warm. At least there was no wind. She didn't know how long she'd been here. Days, probably. Sometimes muffled light showed through the walls, further confirming the idea that they were ice. But it was always so muted, she couldn't really make out her surroundings. Sometimes there was food. It was always cold, and never quite enough, but it kept her alive. She had to keep going. Jack would come save her. He had to. She believed in him.

Emma pulled her knees up to her chest and started to cry. For the past few days, she'd tried to be strong, but now she let out a loud wail.

"He... hello?" a voice called from somewhere else inside the cavern.

"Who's there?" Emma called, her voice small. She could just make out the silhouette of a man, lumbering towards her.

"Child," the man said, "are you a prisoner here, too?"

Emma nodded as she sniffled.

"There's a steam vent over here," the man said. "If you're cold, it will warm you."

Emma nodded and followed the man to the vent. There was still no light, but she could tell he was an adult.

"My name is John," the man said, sitting down on one side of the vent. A puff of steam came out of the vent. Emma sighed as the cold was driven from her bones.

"I'm called Emma," Emma said.

"Emma. That's a nice name."

Emma smiled. Just like Jack told her. She shouldn't be afraid. Things were never as bad as they seemed. Now she wasn't alone, and she wasn't cold. All Jack had to do was come rescue her, and everything would be fine.


	19. The Breakup Attempt

Merida looked around at the girls. She hadn't meant for their girls' night out to become such a regular thing, but the other girls seemed to really enjoy it (except for Camicazi, who started to hang out exclusively with fourth years immediately after the second task). The girls didn't have to care about how they looked to boys. Not that most of them cared anyway, but it was nice to not feel judged. It took a little convincing to get the boys to leave them the club room, but Merida managed it with diplomacy.

"Wow, this looks just like Berk," Astrid said, examining the painting.

"Well, Hiccup was really good at describing it," Rapunzel said, brushing back her hair.

"Don't downplay yourself," Heather said. "You're a really good artist. I wish there was something I was good at."

"You must have some talent," Astrid said. Merida smiled. They still didn't quite get along. Astrid insisted she was still suspicious of Heather. But she didn't push it when Hiccup wasn't around. Merida suspected that Astrid was just too proud to admit she'd been wrong.

"I'm afraid not," Heather said, tilting her head. "I guess that's why I was so pushy about dragons. It's the only thing I've ever felt good at. But I'm far to scared to ever approach a dragon alone."

Astrid sighed deeply, "What do you know about dragons?"

"I've seen them. Flying overhead. The Zipplebacks and the Scaldrons. They've always fascinated me, even when they were burning down my village."

"You don't hate them for that?" Rapunzel asked.

"Well, humans have burned down my village, too, and I don't hate all humans. Why should I hate all dragons?"

"Wow, you would not fit in at Durmstrang," Ruffnut said. "We hate everything."

"I just ..." Heather started, " … I just wish I could see a dragon. Up close, you know. Then I would know for sure. I thought Hiccup might be able to help me; he seems like such an expert in dragons."

"He's not the only expert," Astrid said. "I could get you up close to a dragon. But I'm still not sure about you."

Heather thought for a minute. Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Prince Hans walked in. He gave a brief bow to the girls, then turned to Rapunzel.

"Sorry for interrupting," he said. "Rapunzel, I just noticed that the light outside is perfect. I'd like to take you out for a walk. There's an important question I was hoping to ask."

Rapunzel looked at her friends. Merida shrugged. Finally, Rapunzel got up and went with Hans.

Merida turned to Heather and Astrid, "I don't think you need to worry about the dragons. We should be worried about Hans. He's eating up all of Rapunzel's free time. That's much more pressing, isn't it? I mean, dragons are all over the place in the archipelago. You can't keep Heather from them forever."

"Maybe you're right," Astrid sighed. "I suppose it won't really hurt. Tell you what, Heather. If you can help us deal with Prince Hans, I'll help you meet a dragon."

With that, the girls set about plotting how to break up Hans and Rapunzel.

* * *

Hiccup and the male Dragon Riders relaxed in the forest with their dragons. It was weird not having the girls around.

Right now, Jack was busy keeping Tuffnut from going crazy without his twin. Tuffnut showed Jack how to ride Barf. Good distraction for both of them. Fishlegs was eating rocks with Meatlug. Snotlout was fighting with Hookfang.

Luckily, since the girls made up, Astrid no longer objected to Jack hanging around with them. Which was good, because Jack used to hang out with Camicazi but ever since his hair washed out in the lake, she'd been avoiding him and the others.

Hiccup shook his head as Snotlout punched Hookfang on the nose, at which point Hookfang picked him up in his mouth and shook him. Hiccup turned back to Toothless. Toothless gave a happy roar. Hiccup climbed onto his back and opened his tail, heading into the sky. The Dragon Riders would be fine without him. It had been a while since he'd flown alone with Toothless.

Together they zoomed into the clouds looking down on the school. He felt like he could touch the sky. As Hiccup flew over the castle grounds, he noticed a long spot of gold. He flew down closer and could make out Rapunzel walking with Hans. He pulled Toothless back so as not to disturb them. Rapunzel had recently met Toothless. Hiccup hadn't even noticed that he had forgotten to tell her. With all the drama going on with Astrid, Merida and Heather, it didn't even occur to him that Rapunzel didn't know. He was glad she had another friend to rely on.

As he watched, Hans took Rapunzel's hand and kneeled down. He wasn't proposing was he? Rapunzel was only fifteen. He knew royal families usually married early, certainly Merida had already gone through it a bit. But it still seemed weird. Rapunzel pulled her hand away, and turned away from Hans.

Hiccup might have followed them some more, if not for Jack's sudden appearance.

"Ruffnut came back," Jack said, perching on the branch of a tree next to Hiccup.

"And Astrid?" Hiccup questioned.

"She and Heather came back, too."

"Heather? Really?" Hiccup asked, scratching Toothless's ear.

"Yep. Merida's plan worked. Don't you dare tell her I said this, but she's gotten really good at this diplomacy thing. She's just like her Mum."

"So why'd you leave?"

"Too crowded. And too hot. They're showing Heather how all the dragons make fire. I could have stuck around and thrown some snow on it, but I thought that would defeat the purpose. Besides, girls act weird around me now. Even the grown ups. You should have seen it. The other day, I smiled as I was leaving History of Magic, and Tooth almost jumped in my mouth."

"Oh, it must suck to be the most handsome popular kid at school," Hiccup said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. I love being the center of attention. But I know it's not real. They only like me 'cause I'm the Champion. And even that's iffy. I haven't been able to find Camicazi since the second challenge. I wanted to talk to her about it. She probably thinks I'm a freak. I know I shouldn't have used my ice power to freeze the water. But I couldn't let Rapunzel's boyfriend drown."

"I don't know," Hiccup said, trying to cheer Jack up. "From a distance it could have looked like the Glacious charm."

"Then why is she avoiding me?" Jack asked with a sigh. Hiccup had no response for that. Being a year younger, Camicazi didn't share any of their classes, and being a Bog Burglar, she didn't hang around with the Hooligans. Jack started to get that far away look, like he was thinking of all the problems in the world.

"Hey," Hiccup said, trying to cheer up his friend, "Astrid and Stormfly are catching up to Toothless's speed. Can you help me practice? We could have a race."

Jacks face lit up. Hiccup let out Toothless's tail and raced Jack into the night. He was just as capable of initiating fun as his friend.

* * *

Rapunzel paced around her room. She didn't know what to do. Hans proposed to her. It seemed so out of the blue. She didn't think they were that serious. Not yet. She told him she had to think, which was true.

She liked Hans. He was handsome and charming, nice. But it didn't feel like love. Not that she knew what love was. She hadn't exactly had a lot of experience with boys. Besides Hiccup and Jack, she only knew a few boys in Ravenclaw, and even then, not well. She probably knew Merida's suitors better.

But more importantly, she didn't want to marry Hans. Even if she did love him, she still had two years of school left. She'd never even met her parents. How could she be expected to make such a big decision? She was only fifteen.

At the same time, Hans was offering to take her away. To leave her tower. He promised to take her to see the lights on her birthday. And if she did get married, surely her parents would come. He would protect her. She wouldn't have to relay on Mother Gothel.

Gothel opened the door and came in.

"I'm home," Gothel said, "and I am simply exhausted. Sing for me, dear."

Rapunzel nodded and arranged the stool. Gothel brushed her hair as she sang. Once she finished, Gothel patted the top of her head and started to leave.

"Mother, wait-" Rapunzel called, " … I need your advice."

"Anything, dear," Gothel said, "as long as it's not one of your whiny requests. Those can get so annoying."

"Oh," Rapunzel said, second guessing her decision to ask Mother for advice.

"Well, spit it out, pet. I don't have all day," Gothel commanded.

"Prince Hans … he asked me to marry him."

"WHAT!" Gothel shouted, her eyes flashing.

"I didn't say yes," Rapunzel said timidly.

"Well, that's good," Gothel said, still fuming. "How dare he? I knew it. I knew he just wanted to steal my flower."

"I didn't say no, either," Rapunzel said.

"Why not?" Gothel demanded, turning sharply.

"Because … because it might be for the best," Rapunzel said softly. "I mean, he could protect me, and my hair."

"And what have I been doing?" Gothel demanded. "All these years I've sacrificed for you. I only bathed and changed and nursed you. But fine, leave me, if you're so sure he'd be better."

"I ... I didn't say that."

"You don't have to. I can see I'm not that important to you. Let me die alone here. That's what you wanted, right? To kill me. Make all my years of sacrifice worthless. Just so you can marry a prince."

"Mother, I didn't-"

"Whatever you want, Rapunzel. I can see that the only thing you care about is rising in the world. All your friends will think you're so shallow."

"But I-"

"And, of course, if I try to get you to do the sensible thing, you'll just accuse me of being the bad guy, won't you? Make it look like I'm trying to stomp on your dreams, just because I can see when you're about to make the worst mistake of your life, even though you're too head over heels to listen to reason."

"But ..."

"Just remember when he dumps you I warned you about this. Don't come to me crying just because you can't handle the consequences of your decisions."

Gothel stormed out leaving Rapunzel more confused than ever.

* * *

Jack Frost sat in the club room. Merida was with him.

"Have you heard anything from Camicazi?" Jack asked as he touched the window, making it frost over.

"No," Merida said shrugging. "Any idea what the next challenge is?"

"Nope. But I go last. Astrid has the best score so far. She gets a head start. Even though Hans didn't complete the 2nd challenge, he got a better score because I mouthed off at the judges."

"You really need to watch that," Merida chided. "You're lucky they didn't disqualify you."

"I know. I just couldn't hold it in. They put us in a stressful situation. I was tired, hungry, and when I saw that they'd done the same thing to that girl, it just made me so … so … livid."

"Why do you care? You didn't know her."

"Why should it matter if I knew her or not? Every kid in the world is a chance to make a friend. And besides, I could see myself in her, and my sister. She was only a year or two older than Emma, and I'm on the naughty list, too. If I hadn't been a wizard and Champion, would they have put me in that situation?"

Before Merida could answer, the door flew open and Mother Gothel burst in.

"Good, you're here," she said, closing the door behind her.

"Merida is here, too," Jack reminded Gothel, "and I thought you didn't wanna talk to me."

"You have to help me," Gothel said, getting on her knees. "Rapunzel is in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Merida asked.

"That prince proposed to her!" Gothel screeched. "I tried to stop her. I don't want her to say yes."

"Wait, she's getting married?" Jack asked, his mind still catching up.

"Not yet. She said she hasn't made up her mind. But I'm afraid if I try to get in the way, she'll think I'm the bad guy and go running to him just to spite me."

"You _are_ the bad guy," Jack said. Merida looked at him quizzically. Gothel scowled.

"Regardless of how you may feel, marrying him would be the worst decision of her life. Don't do it for me, do it for her."

"What do you want us to do?" Merida asked.

"Convince her of his true nature. Convince her not to marry him." With those words, Gothel stormed out.

"Do you think we should do it?" Merida asked. Jack thought. He didn't trust Gothel as far as he could throw her, that was for sure. But he had noticed something strange and predatory about Hans. While he wouldn't let him die in the challenge, he wasn't about to let the prince get away with taking advantage of his friends, either. Protecting Rapunzel was more important than spiting Gothel.

"Yes," Jack said. "Gothel think's he's after Rapunzel because she's a princess. I bet we can use that. If Gothel is wrong, no harm done. He won't stray. But if she's right, we can get him and prove it to Rapunzel."

With that, Jack and Merida sank into plotting. Merida had already come up with some ideas from her talks with the girls. Jack found himself smiling more than he had in the past few months. Playing a prank with Merida, nothing was better.

* * *

Merida waited outside by the lake just after Easter break. After weeks of planning, her and Jack's plan was ready to be set in motion. She rehearsed the lines in her head. She and Jack had been practicing almost non-stop. She thought he should be a little more focused on the challenge but planning this prank was more fun.

She'd never admit it to him, but of all their friends, she liked spending time with him most of all. He was just so fun when he wasn't being mopey.

She looked towards the castle doors. Jack was leading Rapunzel out. From the greenhouse area, Merida spotted Hans coming back from the seventh year Herbology class. She walked toward him.

"Hey!" Merida called out. Hans stopped and turned towards her.

"Yes?" Hans asked.

"I … I heard you proposed to my friend," Merida said.

Hans smiled, "Yes, but she hasn't said yes yet."

"Oh, I know," Merida confirmed, "but I think she will."

"Really?" Hans said, his eyes lighting up.

"Oh, aye," Merida said, starting her script. "She's really looking forward to moving to the Southern Isles."

"Wait, moving to the Southern Isles? I have twelve brothers, it will be awfully crowded."

"She doesn't mind. She grew up all alone in a tower. I mean, her own parents didn't want her. I'm sure she'd love to meet your family. She'd feel all welcomed. You know, there's talk in my kingdom that Corona is planning to turn into a democracy," Merida lied. She wasn't even really sure what a democracy was. The Romans down south had something like that, she hoped Hans would be familiar with the idea.

"What?" he asked in shock.

"Mm-hm," Merida said. "Too bad, too. I was looking forward to meeting with her when I take over as queen after me mum. I'll admit. I was hoping to get to know you better, too."

Merida put her hand on Hans' arm as Jack and Rapunzel came within ear shot. Jack kept them out of Hans' line of sight.

"I'll admit," Merida said, "I was a little jealous that you took her to the ball instead of me. I know I was a little hostile to you before. I guess it was my jealousy. I suppose, I just wished you could be ruling at my side when I take over for me mum. She's thinking of abdicating soon. Maybe within the next year."

Merida looked up, into Hans brilliant hazel eyes. There was no doubt. He was handsome. That made this part ten times easier.

"Marry me," Merida asked.

"Whatever you want," Hans said.

Merida leaned up to him. Hans met her halfway. Their lips locked. Merida didn't quite enjoy it, though it wasn't as bad as she'd expected. Rapunzel gasped.

Merida shoved Hans away. He looked at the two girls in shock.

"Hans … I thought you loved me," Rapunzel said.

"He loved your crown, maybe," Merida said. "By the way, I take back my marriage proposal. I intend to be a maiden forever. Whether or not my three brothers inherit before me."

"Great job, Merida," Jack said. "You did it."

Rapunzel started to cry.

"Rapunzel," Hans stammered, "I … It's not what it looks like ..."

But Rapunzel wasn't listening. She turned and ran back to the castle, shoving Jack lightly as she went.

Jack and Merida let her go. Hans glared at them. Merida had to take a step back … he just looked so … so mean. In all their past meetings, Hans always seemed so charming and nice, but now, he was glaring at the two of them. He looked like a different person.

"You ruined it," he snarled. "All my plans. I was finally going to beat my stupid brothers. But you got in the way. I'm going to destroy you in the tournament if I can't make things right with her."

Hans stormed off after Rapunzel.

"Should we let him go?" Merida asked.

Jack shrugged, "She heard what she had to. I don't think he'll be able to make up with her."

"Are you worried about him?"

"Nah," Jack said. "He's just a talker. I just hope we didn't hurt Rapunzel too much."

"She'll be fine," Merida said, shrugging it off. Sure, Rapunzel was upset, but it was hardly the first time. Surly, with a good cry, everything would be fine.

* * *

Hans paced around the room he shared with the other Beauxbatons boys. How could he have lost his chance? His whole life, he'd always been behind someone. Usually one of his brothers. And now, he finally got his chance to do something before them. He could be the first of his family to inherit a crown. And he had to blow it.

Why didn't he realize it was a trap? Merida was obviously trying to trick him. He should have seen it. She'd been cold to him all year, and then all of a sudden she asked him to marry her? What did he expect?

Some of the other Beauxbatons students gave him odd looks as he banged his fist on their fireplace, but none questioned him. They must have assumed he was just stressing about the final exams. Technically, Champions were exempt from the test, but seeing as they were his N.E.W.T.s, he'd elected to take them. None of his brothers had ever gotten straight O's. He could beat them at that. None of them had ever been Champions either. But he wanted to beat them at everything. To be the best.

"Need help, Unlucky?" one of the boys asked. Hans glared at him. That was the price he paid for being the youngest of thirteen wizards. None of the Beauxbatons students gave him the respect he deserved. He should have reigned among them. He was a prince. They should be bowing at his feet, not insulting him with the nickname his older brothers used.

Well, that would soon change. He would find a princess to marry and, once he was king, he could punish his brothers for all the things they did to him. They wouldn't be able to ignore the king the way they ignored the prince. But that left the problem of which princess.

He'd thought Rapunzel was the one. She was certainly needy enough. It wasn't hard to get her attention. Her 'Mother' was a little problematic. But nothing a little arsenic couldn't cure, assuming he couldn't persuade her.

He wondered if Merida's comments about Rapunzel's kingdom were true. It didn't really matter, he supposed, unless he could make up with Rapunzel, which was unlikely. Unless he could convince her that her friend used a love potion? That just might work. Wasn't the 'bear' princess known for her use of magic potions, after all?

Without a word to his fellow students, Hans went to the library. He needed to research side effects of love potions. He had to make this convincing if he ever wanted to marry Rapunzel and become the king of Corona. And just in case that door was closed forever, it wouldn't hurt to start looking into other kingdoms with female heirs, like Arendelle ...


	20. The Tournament Heats Up

**A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter and the next contain major spoilers for the Dreamworks Dragons: Riders of Berk.**

* * *

Rapunzel opened her book in an attempt to distract herself but the tears kept coming. She wasn't terribly upset with Hans. She hadn't really wanted to marry him anyway. She was far more upset with Merida and Jack for tricking him. They didn't even consider that she might have refused him on her own. They hadn't tried to tell her how they felt, they'd jumped straight to tricks.

A knock came on the door. Rapunzel didn't say anything and her mother entered.

"Why, Rapunzel," Gothel said, sitting down. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Mother," Rapunzel said, pouring out her story. When she finished recounting the incident, she said, "I … I suppose they were only looking out for me."

"Don't put yourself down, like that, Rapunzel," Gothel said, stroking the girl's face, "You deserve better friends. Don't let them off the hook so easily, or they'll keep taking advantage of you. This is what I tried to warn you of. But you never listened. I knew you weren't strong enough to handle yourself."

"But-" Rapunzel started. She was interrupted by the door opening again, Prince Hans stepped in.

"Get out!" Gothel shouted, waving her arms trying to shoo him away.

"I … I'll go," Hans said. "I just came to apologize. If I'd known Merida spiked that keet with a love potion, I never would have tasted it."

"Keet?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Yes. Just before she started talking to me, she offered a keet. I thought since you were friends, it would be wisest to accept it. I didn't want you to have to choose between your friend and me. But I didn't know it was poisoned."

Rapunzel turned the new information over in her head. It wouldn't have been the first time Merida messed around with potions. Perhaps there was some validity to Hans's claim. Then again, he didn't seem to be showing the symptoms.

"Don't love potions usually last for twenty four hours?" Rapunzel questioned.

"A full dose," Hans said, "but I only had a bite. And that's only if the potion was brewed correctly. I believe your friend may have skipped a step, causing less of an infatuation."

Rapunzel didn't know if she should believe him or not. She looked to Mother Gothel, who was strangely silent. This was all up to her.

"I accept your apology," Rapunzel said. She didn't know if she fully trusted Hans. He didn't sound like someone who'd been under a love potion. But she was mad at Merida and Jack. They wanted to break her up. Mother said she shouldn't let them get away with it. Mother knows best, right? That's what she was always saying. Because they had betrayed her, Rapunzel accepted Hans' apology.

* * *

Gothel gave Rapunzel a comforting pat, then pushed Prince Hans out the door, shutting Rapunzel in behind her. Gothel hadn't known what to do during their lover's spat. She did not want Rapunzel to marry Hans. And at the same time, she did not want Rapunzel to make up with Jack and Merida. Feeling her relationship was poisoned might be the best. But she had to put an end to this Hans.

"You!" Gothel said, pointing at Hans. "I don't know what your game is, but I will not stand for you hurting my daughter."

"I know, and I'm sorry," the prince said, holding up his hands in surrender. As she was about to banish him from the infirmary, an idea came to her.

"I believe you," Gothel said. "It _is_ well known that Princess Merida mucked up her kingdom by misusing a magic potion. I would not put it past her to try a love potion on you. But all the same, I would rather not have my pet hurt by either of you. Watch out for that princess. But more importantly, watch out for that boy."

"You mean the Hogwarts Champion? Jack?" Hans asked, confusion lining his face.

Gothel nodded solemnly, "You are new to this school, I doubt you would have noticed, but I believe Jack put Merida up to it. He has always been trying to interfere in Rapunzel's life. I believe he intends to woo her. He's half ice elf, you know. Sneaky lot. Always trying to get into other people's business. You can never trust anyone who can make ice. The ice in their veins … it freezes their hearts. And he's a peasant. I believe he wants to wed Rapunzel. And it would just be terrible to have someone with a frozen heart ruling a kingdom."

"Wait, so she is set to inherit?" Hans asked. Gothel's suspicions were confirmed, but her plans were well in motion.

"Yes. As the only child, she should get all of Corona," Gothel said. "She and whoever her husband is, that is."

As Gothel expected, his eyes lit up at the prospect. And now, to make sure neither he nor Jack ever bothered with her flower again.

"I'm terribly worried that Rapunzel will choose Jack," Gothel said feigning concern. "The boy would be an awful king … But I don't know how to convince her not to choose him. I thought when she started going out with you, she would see him for the social climber he is … but her loyalty is unwavering. You must win the Championship. If you win, I know she'll love you more. She loves winners. And if Jack should happen to befall a tragic accident in the arena, all the better. After all … it's not like anyone can see what's going on in that area anyway. Besides, ice elves aren't real people."

At Gothel's suggestion, Hans grew a malicious grin. She smiled and went back in to Rapunzel, leaving Hans to plot his deadly actions. Gothel checked Rapunzel's night stand. Her telescope was still there. Good. Hans would murder Jack. Rapunzel would witness it. She'd be too far away to use her hair to heal him. She would never trust Hans and the one person who knew Rapunzel was kidnapped would be gone forever. She would have her flower right where she wanted her. What a perfect day.

* * *

Hiccup flew around the school on Toothless just before the sun came up. Today was the day. The third and final challenge. Lessons were over. They were still waiting for their O.W.L. results, but Hiccup felt fairly confident in his score. Ever since he met Toothless he'd gotten so much better at wand work. He'd hardly had any missteps so far. Using his left hand, with the confidence and freedom that Toothless gave him, he could do magic. He was no prodigy by any means. He knew he'd never be as good as the others who'd been doing magic since before school. But with Toothless, he didn't need to be good at magic. Just like he didn't need to be strong. Toothless completed him.

Just for fun, Hiccup let out Toothless' tail, and they soared up, up into the sky, until Hiccup could see the ocean.

"Nice goin', Bud," Hiccup said, patting the black scales. The dragon purred in response. On the horizon, Hiccup could see several Viking ships. He adjusted the tail and they flew towards them.

Strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to leave the school grounds. But that had never stopped him before. The other Dragon Riders were still sleeping, all but Astrid who was busy preparing for the challenge that day. He knew she didn't need his help, not now. Now, she needed to concentrate. The students were allowed to be armed for the final challenge. Hiccup had seen the arena from the sky. It looked deadly.

As he drew closer to the ships, he noticed several of them looked familiar. Really, really familiar. Hiccup landed on one. The captain turned around. It was his dad.

"What are you doing here?" Hiccup asked. Mildew walked across the deck, tripping over Toothless's tail.

"What are you doin' on the dragon, son? I thought I gave very precise orders."

"No one can see us in the dark, Dad," Hiccup said, dismounting to help Mildew up. "Remember? The Night Fury is the dragon no one's ever seen. No one saw me flying around Berk, no one's seen me flying around Hogwarts. And you didn't answer my question."

"Came to cheer on Durmstrang, of course," Stoick grumbled. "We got the whole village. Kinda had to, seeing as none of you kids were home for Thawfest."

"You DO realize that I go to Hogwarts, right?" Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. Mildew wrenched his arm away from Hiccup and kept going with his task, mumbling something about 'useless dragons'.

"Are you the Hogwarts Champion?" Stoick demanded.

"No."

"Then we're here for Durmstrang." Stoick sighed, "It's where all the real Vikings went to school."

Hiccup let the insult slide as he got back on Toothless, "Guess I'd better get back before sun up if I don't want people to see us. See you at the castle."

Hiccup and Toothless took off. As they flew, Hiccup gave one last look towards the boats. Not all of them looked so familiar, but if his tribe came all this way just to watch the games, it was likely that friends and families of the other contestants came too. Probably other Viking tribes too, though hopefully not the Berserkers or the Outcasts. He couldn't stand Dagur even if Oswald the Agreeable was decent, and according to several letters from his dad, they'd had a few skirmishes with the Outcast Tribe. Hiccup did not need any new enemies. Pitch Black was enough.

Maybe Hans' family was somewhere down there. Or Jack's. Not that his mother and sister could afford a boat trip. More likely they'd be coming in carriage if they came. Hiccup vowed to keep his eye out for them. What a nice surprise for Jack if they showed up.

* * *

Camicazi paced around her room. This was it. Today was the big day. The day she would make them pay. Everyone was distracted with the games. It was the best time to slip away.

The only problem was, her Durmstrang friends wanted to stay and watch. She'd always intended to take them with her. A small team of four girls. But no … her stupid friends wanted to stay and cheer on Astrid. For a moment, Camicazi wondered if she was making a mistake.

"You aren't getting cold feet, are you?" the shadow asked.

"Of course not!" Camicazi said, grabbing her cloak, "but it's gonna be awfully hard to get there alone."

"Don't worry, my dear," the shadow said. "I can provide transportation. Just focus on your arsenal."

Camicazi nodded and started gathering her weapons. Swords, daggers, shield, a bow and arrows, and a bit of rope. Never knew what she was going to run into.

After gathering everything, she set out on the castle grounds. All the other students were making their way to the arena. Camicazi ignored them and followed the shadows to the edge of the woods.

"Don't scream," the shadow said. "I'll lead you through this, but you mustn't draw any attention."

Camicazi kept her mouth closed as she followed the shadows deeper and deeper into the woods. The cheering from the stands grew fainter as she made her way. Leaves rustled, making the girl jump. She tried to laugh it off. Bog-Burglars weren't supposed to be afraid of anything. But still, the feeling that something was in these woods wouldn't leave her.

And then she saw them. Five dragons, all sleeping in the woods. It took every ounce of courage not to scream. She pulled an axe off her hip, and prepared to chop off the head of the nearest dragon, when she heard a voice.

"Don't!" the shadow said. "This is your ride."

"I can't ride a dragon," Camicazi protested.

"Of course you can. Wizards are far more superior to these creatures. You can take one. It will obey you."

The shadow disappeared. Camicazi looked at the dragons again, for the first time, she noticed they were wearing saddles. Someone else had trained them. Was that even possible? Camicazi walked around the dragons. She picked the beautiful blue Deadly Nadder and climbed on.

"Camicazi?" The girl looked up. Merida was there, unarmed, among the dragons.

"Stay back, traitor," Camicazi said, waving her axe at the redhead.

"What are you doing on Stormfly?" Merida asked.

"I'm going to go make Frost pay," Camicazi said as Stormfly stood up.

"So you have been avoiding him."

"Of course. How dare an inferior ice elf try to trick me. He won't get away with it. I'm going to destroy their whole nest."

Camicazi kicked the dragon's side and the dragon took off into the sky. On the ground, she could see a path of shadow. It took a little coercion, but she managed to steer Stormfly in the right direction. Very soon, there wouldn't be an ice elf left in the world.

* * *

Flynn and the Stabbington brothers followed Rocky. Jack's mother had given them a bit of Floo powder. Flynn made a big deal out of it, as though it were the last bit on earth. The brothers bought his lies. Unfortunately, he was unwilling to actually use the powder. It might be able to take them to India. But he didn't know if they even had connected Floos there. Or any Floos, for that matter. Wasn't India supposed to be hot? There might not be a decent fireplace within three hundred miles of the Tooth Palace. But he could deal with that later. Now was about finding the missing Frost girl.

"How much further?" the Brothers grumbled.

"Oh, just a bit," Flynn called back. He actually had no idea. But he trusted Rocky's magic to get him to the girl. Not that the Stabbington Brothers had any clue that was what they were seeking. Much like the random visit to the Frost household, Flynn intended to make something up. Ah, the advantages of dealing with muggles. So easy to trick when it came to magic stuff.

The brothers were starting to fall behind. Rocky was not particularly fast, but he had a lot of stamina. He's been walking at a steady pace for over four hours. Flynn ran to keep up with him.

"Are we close?" Flynn asked.

"I don't know. She didn't come this way. She didn't come any way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she apparated, or shadow traveled or something. Not over land, or I could find the trail. But I can sense her. The scent is getting stronger. I don't know how close we are."

Flynn was about to drop back to the brothers, when Rocky stopped and looked up. Suddenly, he jumped up and started running. Flynn looked back at the Stabbington brothers, they were resting their feet. Flynn followed Rocky, disappearing behind the bend. As he followed Rocky, he spotted a sled pulled by a reindeer. For a moment, he thought it was Santa's sleigh. But that was ridiculous, it was May, and besides, this sled wasn't red, and it was full of ice.

The troll ran right up to the sled.

"KRISTOFF!" Rocky called out.

"Jorfi!" the teenager on the cart called. He pull the reindeer to a stop and unhooked him from the sled. "What are you doing so far from home?"

"You know this kid?" Flynn asked.

"Oh, Flynn," Rocky said, "this is Kristoff. He's from my tribe."

"No offense, but you don't look like a rock troll," Flynn said, shaking the other boys' hand. He looked to be a bit younger than Flynn, though not by much.

"It's called adoption," the boy said, pulling out a carrot. "So, who are you and how do you know Jorfi?"

"He rescued me," Rocky said. "Found me in a cage. The muggles threatened to eat me, but he helped me escape."

"Thanks for that. Grand Pabbie wouldn't have liked it if one of our young disappeared. I can take him home from here."

"We're not going home," Rocky said.

"A friend my mine's sister has gone missing," Flynn explained. "Rocky was using his magic to track her."

From behind, Flynn could hear the Stabbingtons coming closer. Quickly, he added, "You have to get out of here. Take Rocky, I'll convince them the spell ran out."

"No!" Rocky said, "I want to find your friend."

"What's going on?" Kristoff asked.

"I -" Flynn started, but it was too late. He could feel the Stabbington brothers behind him.

"Who's this?" the brother asked.

"Uh … a ride … for you," Flynn said, thinking on his feet. The brothers smiled.

"Great idea." They pulled their swords from their back and waved them with menace at the boy.

"You can give us the cart," Flynn said, "or … and this is just a suggestion ... you can lead the pony where we wanna go."

The teenager looked between the three of them, then his shoulders sagged, "I'll take you. But Sven can't pull all of us."

"Looks like yer walkin', Rider," the brother said, shoving Flynn as they climbed onto the sled.

Flynn and the boy walked next to the reindeer, all following Rocky. The boy leaned over and whispered, "You'd better tell me exactly what you've gotten us into."

Flynn smiled wryly. That he could do.

* * *

Jack looked around the scorching field. The final challenge. Everyone was here, watching. Everyone, except his mother. When he'd seen all the Vikings, he'd had hope that his mother and sister would come. But they didn't. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. It wasn't like they could afford to come. But it did make him feel lonelier. Maybe, if he won the prize, they would have enough to take a trip anywhere they wanted.

He knew his odds were slim. This one was all about speed and Jack was already behind; having the lowest score meant he went last. And the conditions were terrible. The sun was out and hot. Not a cloud in the sky. No water in sight. Without his staff, he couldn't summon a cool wind. The ground was awful, too. Hot yellow sand that had absorbed the heat making his bare feet feel like they were burning. And the glare nearly blinded him. Hans and Astrid had ventured into the wasteland earlier, before the sun was so hot. Jack looked over the sand. He couldn't spot any tracks.

As he walked further into the desert, he turned back to the stands, but he couldn't see anything. The glare obscured the crowd. Not that it mattered if they could see him anyway. He'd already given away that he was an ice elf during the last task. Jack tried to summon some ice to keep himself cool, but the area was so hot, it melted right away. Evaporating almost as soon as Jack made it.

He rubbed his head. This was as far from ideal conditions as he could get.

As he wandered the hot desert, he realized it wouldn't be difficult for just him. Astrid was from the Barbaric Archipelago, which was also a very cold climate. What did Hiccup say? A few degrees south of freezing to death. He wondered how she was faring in the heat.

And even though Prince Hans' kingdom was called the Southern Isles, they weren't that far south, really. Further south than the Barbaric Archipelago and Arendelle, sure, but further north than Corona.

Jack stumbled as he made his way deeper into the hot sea of sand. It was hard to keep his footing as with every step the sand moved a little. Relentlessly, Jack kept going. He was looking for a cup, this time. Whoever found it would win. Jack paused to take a breath. It was getting hard to breath in the heat, and hard to think. Suddenly, the sands beneath him shifted. Jack rolled down the hill, the sharp grains scraping up his legs and bare feet. He touched his hands to his legs, trying to ice them over to cool the burn. The ice provided a bit of relief before it melted. It was at least enough to clear Jack's head.

Suddenly, he remembered why he'd fallen. The sands shifted. Why did the sands shift? He was holding still at the time, and there was no wind. Jack looked around the field. It was subtle, but he could see the sands moving … moving like something was burrowing underneath them. Jack watched as the strange shape moved away from him. Maybe it was just meant to trip him … hopefully. Jack turned away from the shape and moved quickly in the other direction. He didn't want to find out if the creature did anything else.

* * *

Merida ran back to the grandstand after witnessing Camicazi steal Stormfly. She was lucky Jack was going last, or she would have been in the stands already, instead of with the dragons.

Merida pushed her way through the crowds of people, trying to make her way to where all the Vikings were sitting.

"Merida! Over here, lass," someone called, Merida turned and saw her father.

"Dad! What are yeh doing here?"

"We came to support you, dear," Queen Elinor said, appearing behind her father.

"But I'm … I'm not a Champion," Merida said.

"Aye, but one of your friends is, isn't he?" Queen Elinor said. "You said so when you invited us out for the other challenges. Sorry we couldn't make those."

"But we made time for this one," the King said. "This is the final game, right?"

"Oh, aye," Merida said, "but I'm on a mission. I need to find Hiccup and the Vikings."

"Vikings?!" King Fergus growled, his eyes hardening.

"They're fine," Merida said quickly. "We've not had many fights. But I just saw someone steal something of theirs. I need to tell them. It's an emergency. If I don't stop the thief, there'll be war."

"A war on Vikings, serves the savages right!" King Fergus said, swinging his arm. Merida rolled her eyes. She spotted the lords and their sons behind her parents. To her dismay, they looked like they agreed with the king.

"Mum, I have to go deal with this," Merida pleaded, turning away from the clans.

"Fergus, you should trust your daughter's judgment," Queen Elinor said. "It wouldn't be the first time she was right. Remember when you wanted to kill me because I was bear? Besides, stopping their war might be good practice should the clans ever fight again."

"Fine, go lass, save the bloodthirsty savages from getting what they deserve," the king said collapsing in his chair. Merida shook her head, but didn't bother arguing. No good would come from prolonging the argument and delaying alerting the Vikings. A few aisles away, she spotted several horned hats.

Now, she just had to find Hiccup and get his help to stop Camicazi from declaring war on ice elves.

* * *

Hiccup slumped in his seat as his dad loudly yelled at the stadium. Hiccup had let him borrow the telescope he made. It was the only way anyone could see anything in the game.

Hiccup tried to ignore his dad. He loved him and all, but Stoick could be so insensitive at times. Such as not noticing that Hiccup felt conflicted about Jack and Astrid. At least those two had made up. One less thing for Hiccup to worry about. He wished he could see what was going on. Were they okay? Who was winning?

Stoick jumped up, "No!"

"What's happened?" Gobber asked.

"She fell," Stoick said. "Somethin' knocked her right off her feet."

Hiccup was about to ask for his spyglass back when he heard a cruel … no … make that deranged, laugh behind him. He knew that laugh. The hairs on the back of his neck bristling, Hiccup turned and came face to face with Dagur the Deranged.

Gobber and Stoick put down the telescope and turned from the games to face the young man with Hiccup.

"What are you doing here?" Stoick asked. "Where's your father, Oswald the Agreeable?"

"My father has … retired," Dagur said, "I am the chief of the Berserkers now."

"That isn't good," Gobber muttered.

"And I came for the same reason all of you came. To watch the Champion of my alma mater win the Tri-wizard Tournament."

"Didn't I hear you got kicked out of Durmstrang?" Hiccup said wryly. Hiccup prepared to duck as Dagur fingered his knife. The other boy changed his mind, however and simply shrugged.

"What can I say? School isn't for everyone. Just as killing dragons isn't for everyone. Although, there are rumors … Tell me, Hiccup," Dagur said, leaning in too close for Hiccup's comfort, "what happened to your leg?"

"Oh, this?" Hiccup said, twisting his metal leg. "Accidents happen, you know, clumsy me."

"Are you sure," Dagur said, fingering his knife again. "You sure you want to stick with that … and not the story about the Red Death."

"The Red Death?" Hiccup asked

"Uh huh," Dagur said. "I heard all about it. How you defeated it all by your very little self."

"How could I even do that?" Hiccup said. "Look at me."

"Well, there was one other thing, about the trained dragons."

"There are no trained dragons on Berk," Stoick interrupted.

"Nope, not one," Gobber added.

"Very well," Dagur said. "Guess I'll just have to wait for my armada to get there and report back to me. They should be on Berk now."

"WHAT!" Stoick bellowed. "THAT IS A VIOLATION OF OUR TREATY!"

"The treaty that my father signed is no longer valid, seeing that the weakling is no longer with us."

"The treaty expires soon," Gobber said, putting his hand on Stoick's sword, preventing the chief from attacking Dagur. "We'd be happy to sign a new one with you, Chief Dagur."

"We'll see," Dagur said. Before the conversation could continue, Hiccup spotted Merida elbowing her way through the crowd, her parents watching her from their seats nearby.

"Not a good time," Hiccup said to her as she reached him.

"Hiccup," Merida said panting, "Camicazi stole Stormfly."

"What?" Hiccup asked in disbelief. He turned back to the field. Astrid was out there somewhere. With no idea that her dragon was gone. And Dagur was here, trying to accuse him of hiding dragons.

"Hiccup," Merida started, "You have to get to your dr-"

Hiccup jumped at Merida, clamping a hand over her mouth, "Doctor, yes. I have to get a doctor. We'll be going now."

Merida struggled under his arm as Hiccup tried to pull her away. Behind him, he saw her parents jump up and run towards them. Merida twisted and quickly thew Hiccup off. Hiccup fell down and skidded a few feet back.

"What's wrong with you?" Merida said. "Don't you even care that someone stole your girlfriend's dragon?!"

"I knew it!" Dagur said, jumping up and down as Hiccup got back on his feet. "I knew you were hiding dragons!"

Dagur pulled the knife from his hip and thew it at Hiccup. Hiccup was quick to duck, only to hear a gasp behind him. Merida screamed. Hiccup first looked at the redhead. She was staring aghast at the sight behind him. Her mother, Queen Elinor lay on the ground, Dagur's knife stuck in her neck.

* * *

 **A/N: to the Guest who asked about Camicazi: She is aware Pitch is no longer at the school, however, like all the other non-big four students, she was simply told he had retired. And other information she has about it came from Pitch, so you can imagine he wouldn't tell her the truth. And the climax of Hiccup's plotline is coming up!**


	21. To the Rescue

Blood pounded in Merida's ears as she looked down on her dying mother. Her face flushed as she turned on the Viking. She could hear her father shouting something but she couldn't think straight enough to hear his words, to know if he was calling her off or egging her on. It didn't matter. She pulled her wand out.

"Die, Viking filth," she screamed.

She sent a curse at the boy who wounded her mother, blasting him back just before summoning her sword. The Viking she'd cursed started laughing and held up his hand. Many more Vikings started to drop out of the trees. They charged at the group in the stands. Swords and spells clashed. Merida kept fighting with her wand, and as soon as her sword made it to her, she fought with that as well. She tried to only attack the boy who'd injured her mother. She saw Hiccup's tribe was targeting the Vikings crawling out of the woods, as well. Not surprising, since the boy'd been aiming at Hiccup when he hit her mother.

Curses and blades flew. Vikings on both sides screamed out as they were hit. Merida only received minor cuts and bruises. Eventually, the Vikings she was pursuing turned back and fled into the woods. Merida expected everyone to stop and cheer, but they didn't.

Merida turned and, to her horror, saw that Hiccup's tribe was still fighting. Only, instead of fighting off the attackers from the woods, they were fighting the muggles, the clans, her people. If she didn't do something, her mother wouldn't be the only casualty.

* * *

Unaware of what was going on in the stands, Jack kept walking over the hot sands. He sometimes froze the sand beneath his feet to give him a better grip, but he used it sparingly. It was too hot.

Jack looked up. The sun seemed to be directly overhead, there was nothing to offer shade. Jack dragged his feet over the landscape; he was starting to tire. Suddenly, ahead, he spotted a tree. Maybe a whole oasis. Hoping it wasn't a mirage, he started running towards the spot. His foot caught on something making him fall face first into the sand.

As got got up, he looked back on what tripped him and nearly jumped out of his skin. It was a human arm.

Jack almost ran. It could be some kind of trap. Some enchanted corpse, or another boggart. But it could also be someone in trouble. He'd always chosen to help. He wasn't going to stop now, even if it did slow him down. Jack pawed at the sand. As he touched it, the sand swirled up into shapes and took on a life of its own. He'd seen this before. Sleep sand.

Jack smiled as he held the arm. There was slow pulse. The body was just asleep, not dead. Digging around the sand, Jack realized it wasn't a random victim. It was Astrid. He pulled her out of the sand and carried her the short distance to the oasis. It was real.

He set her down in the shade of a tree and felt her forehead. She was burning up. He put his hands on her wrists and willed them to ice over, hoping to cool her off. In a few minutes, her eyes fluttered open.

"What's going on?" she said. She tried to jump up, but wasn't quite up to it.

"You were caught in a dreamsand trap," Jack said, "I think. Or you fainted from the heat."

"I don't faint. I'm a Viking," Astrid said.

"Whatever. You were hot. You were unconscious. I brought you to shade." Jack pointed to the palm tree they were under. He then pulled out his wand and summoned a stream of water. He took a drink. Astrid pulled out her wand and did the same. After both felt refreshed, Jack asked, "So what happened?"

Astrid shrugged, "I saw this tree, so I started for it, when the sand moved under me. I fell. Next thing I know, I'm under here with you. Any idea where the prize is?"

"No," Jack said. He looked around. There were more trees on this side of the arena. "But I bet it's by the trees. They might be a kind of marker. A way for us to know where to go. Otherwise, this place looks pretty desolate."

Astrid got up and started walking away.

"Do you want to look together?" Jack asked. Astrid glared at him.

"Thanks for your help, but I'm winning this!" Astrid ran off. Jack shrugged and started to follow her. He didn't know where to even start. Jack was so focused on keeping up with her, he didn't see the frying pan until it was too late.

* * *

Hiccup leaned over the injured Queen Elinor as the Vikings fought. He could have fought, too, he knew. He was no longer as weak as he had been. He wouldn't just be getting in the way, but no one else was paying any attention to the Queen, and without Toothless, he wouldn't be as strong as he could be.

Hiccup tore off a piece of his shirt and held it to the injury. The Queen's eyes fluttered in her head.

"Hold on, Ma'am," Hiccup said, ducking as a spell flew over his head. He needed to get someone who could heal. Casting a slowing spell on the Queen to keep her from bleeding out, Hiccup ducked and wove through the fighting Vikings, making his way towards the non-Viking/Scot section of the stands. Many of the other people were screaming and running. A few joined in the fight, but most were heading in the opposite direction. And then there were the people who were still staring at the arena, completely unaware of the battle. Fortunately, Rapunzel was one of those people.

Hiccup reached her. Her mouth agape as she stared at the arena through the telescope he had given her.

"I need your help," Hiccup said.

"Hans just attacked Jack!" Rapunzel screamed.

"What?" Hiccup took the telescope from her and looked onto the field. Hans was standing over Jack with a frying pan. Jack lay unconscious on the ground. "Is that yours?"

"Yes," Rapunzel whimpered. "Hans wanted to bring his sword, but I told him to take my frying pan instead."

Hiccup watched as Hans dragged Jack out of a grove of trees into the hot sand. The sand started moving, and then suddenly, from under it, a white dragon's head appeared. Hiccup recognized the head. It was the head of a Whispering Death. It moved in on Jack as Hans ran away. Jack, being unconscious, couldn't fight it or move.

"We have to help-" Hiccup started, when suddenly, an axe hit the dragon. Hiccup watched as Astrid jumped out onto the field, defending Jack. Hiccup smiled as she drove the dragon back into the ground and lifted Jack.

"It's cool," Hiccup informed Rapunzel. "My girlfriend's got this. But I need your help. Look over there."

Hiccup pointed to where all the Vikings and Scots were in a raging battle. Rapunzel nodded and without hesitation, followed Hiccup into the fray.

Hiccup's metal leg got caught on something. He waved Rapunzel on as he stopped to untangle his foot. She kept going, knowing what she had to do.

By the time Hiccup had his leg sorted out, he'd lost Rapunzel.

"Hiccup!" Mildew called as he reached the area where the fighting was occurring. "We need your help."

"I know, I know, it's bad," Hiccup said.

"No," Mildew said, "it's Dagur. Your friend drove him off, but I heard him say he had a Night Fury."

"What?!" Hiccup exclaimed. Mildew nodded frantically.

"Yes. And we all know, only one Night Fury's ever been seen. The big Vikings can handle this skirmish. You have to go after your dragon, boy."

Hiccup didn't hesitate to follow Mildew deep into the woods. It was only after the noise of the battle began to fade that he realized Mildew shouldn't know where he kept his dragons. Hiccup was about to question him when someone jumped out from behind a tree, knocking Hiccup flat on his stomach. Before he could react, a large hand clamped over his mouth and his left arm was twisted painfully behind his back.

Hiccup twisted and turned but it was no use. He was still just a scrawny little teenager. Mildew walked over. Hiccup glared at him. The traitor.

"Great job, Savage," Mildew said.

"Are you sure this is the one?" Savage asked, ripping Hiccup's wand off of him and throwing it aside. "Alvin won't be happy if yeh got the wrong one."

"Oh, yes. He's the Dragon Conqueror alright," a girl said. Savage, and consequently Hiccup, turned towards her. Stepping out from behind a tree was a large Viking Hiccup had never seen before, and Heather.

* * *

Gothel ran as fast as she could when she saw the brewing danger. Why didn't Rapunzel ever listen to her? Well, maybe seeing the bloodshed would be good for the girl. Maybe it would finally convince her that she was too weak to handle herself. But Gothel was scared. What if it had the opposite effect? If Rapunzel managed to help, she might believe herself strong enough to leave her tower and Gothel would lose her forever. This wasn't part of her plan.

Gothel spotted Rapunzel heading into the fray. Dauntlessly, Gothel followed.

"STOP IT!" Merida called, standing on the highest point. A few of the teenagers stopped, but most of the adults kept going.

"Yeh said it yerself, lass," the King of Scotland called. "They're Viking scum. I'll not rest until every last one is dead!"

"Well, we'll not rest until the muggle scum is dead!" a Viking with spiky black hair shouted. The battle raged on.

Rapunzel dove and ducked under the Vikings. As she ran, she pulled out her braid. Gothel saw what she was doing.

"NO! STOP!" Gothel called to Rapunzel. But the girl paid her no heed.

" _PETRIFICUS TOTALUS TRI_!" Merida called out several times in rapid succession. Everyone froze except Rapunzel, Merida, and the teenagers who had already stopped fighting. Gothel could only watch helplessly as Rapunzel let her hair out completely and spread it out over everyone who was injured.

"Flower, Gleam and Glow," Rapunzel sang, "Let your power shine. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine."

Her hair began to glow. Though no one could move, everyone's eyes widened as they realized the power of her hair. Gothel would have screamed if she could. All her work, hiding the flower, kidnapping the child, keeping her locked up in a tower. All for nothing.

Rapunzel looked around for the first time. She whispered, "What have I done?"

"No time for that," Merida said, taking her hand and signaling the other teenagers. "Camicazi stole Stormfly. Come on, we have to stop her."

Rapunzel gathered up her hair and she and the other teenagers followed Merida into the woods.

* * *

Astrid couldn't believe what she'd done. The treasure was within her sight. A treasure chest, probably containing the cup. All that was between her and the cup was a lousy mirror. But then she heard a dull thud. She turned just in time to see Jack go down at the hands of Hans. At first she was going to let it go. If the boys kept fighting, she could have the cup all to herself. But then she remembered how Jack had gone out of his way to help her. And besides, he was friends with Hiccup. So Astrid turned back to Hans, prepared to fight him off, when she saw the Whispering Death leap up from under the sand. That must have been what tripped her before.

She threw her axe to distract it while she tried to think of everything she knew about that species of Dragon. Bolder Class, lots of rotating teeth, hunts from underground. Underground. The dragon dove back underground. That was it. Astrid grabbed Jack's shirt and pulled him back towards the trees. To her surprise, he was fairly light. Even lighter than Hiccup. Well, that just made this easier. Astrid noticed a bit of blood in Jack's hair. That must have been what made the Whispering Death come up for him when it didn't bother with her.

She draped Jack's arms around her neck and climbed up to the top of the nearest tree before the dragon came up again. She pulled out her wand, trying to think of a spell to repel it. A bolder class dragon. Most of them had thick skin. The odds that her spell would hit him and just ricochet back at them were high. Jack stirred against her shoulder.

"Shh," Astrid whispered, watching the dragon turn around in the air. It didn't look like it saw them. Maybe that was its flaw. Poor eyesight, especially in the bright sun.

Jack came to fully before the dragon jumped out of the sand again. This time, though, the dragon focused on them. Astrid saw its nostrils moving. It could smell Jack's blood. It was going to target him no matter what. Astrid considered pushing him off the tree. The dragon would leave her to follow him. But no, that was too heartless even for her.

"When I say so," Astrid whispered, "we need to jump down in different directions, and make a lot of noise to confuse it."

Jack nodded and they prepared to jump, when a shadow covered them.

A fireblast came from the thing casting the shadow. Astrid looked up. Flying above them were Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch.

* * *

Rapunzel paced back and forth in the Dragon Glen. She couldn't believe what she'd done. How could she? Her whole life Mother Gothel drilled the one rule into her head: Don't let anyone know what you can do. Conceal it. Don't let it show.

But … there was so much blood. So many wounded. She hadn't stopped to think. Instinct just took over. The instinct to help. And now her secret was out. The lords' sons stared at her.

"So … this hair thing?" Macintosh asked. "How does it work?"

Rapunzel ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a nervous tug.

"Can Merida do that?" Dingwall asked.

"No, just me," Rapunzel said, turning frantically. So far, neither the lords' sons nor the Vikings who had not been petrified had tried do anything to her hair. They did lean toward the ruffian/thug side but maybe because they were young it hadn't occurred to them to kidnap her. _Or,_ a small part of her mind whispered, _maybe Mother was wrong about them_.

Rapunzel tried to push down her panic. She had bigger things to worry about. Like what all those people would think when they came out of the paralysis. And what was going on with Camicazi and Stormfly? Merida and the Vikings mounted their dragons and flew off to inform Jack and Astrid of the chaos.

Jack … last she saw he was knocked out by Hans. She hoped he was alright. Not that she had to hide her power anymore if he wasn't. Rapunzel took a deep breath. She was calm. She had to be calm.

Young MacGuffin touched a lock of her hair. Rapunzel screamed and jumped. Instantly he dropped it.

"Sorry," he said, taking a step back.

"It's … It's okay," Rapunzel said, pulling all her hair closer to her. She didn't want to seem too freaked out, even though she was. The lords' sons weren't trying to misuse her hair or anything. She nervously stroked her hair, hoping that when Jack and Merida got back, they could make everything right.

* * *

"You guys shouldn't be here," Jack called up to the Dragon Riders. "They'll mark us off for cheating."

Merida rolled her eyes from her place behind Snotlout and tossed Jack's staff to him.

"We aren't here to help you win. We're here because Camicazi stole Stormfly and set off to exterminate the ice elves."

That got both Champions' attention.

"You can win the tournament," Jack said to Astrid before summoning a wind so he was at the dragons' level.

"You think I'm going to stay here while some Bog-Burglar is on MY dragon? No way."

Fishlegs maneuvered his dragon lower so Astrid could swing on.

Before leaving the arena, Jack made a quick dive to retrieve Astrid's axe and Rapunzel's frying pan, then the group set off. They landed in the woods, where Merida's muggle suitors were waiting with Toothless and Rapunzel. Rapunzel paced nervously. She kept running her hands through her unbraided hair, grasping the hair, then letting go and repeating the motion.

"Where's Hiccup?" Astrid asked, getting off Meatlug.

"Can't find him," Dingwall said with a shrug.

"Aye, we checked all the petrified, but he wasn't there," MacGuffin said.

"The petrified?" Jack questioned.

"Long story," Merida said. "We may have accidentally started a war. But if Hiccup wasn't among them, where is he?"

"Maybe he ran when he saw the fighting?" Macintosh suggested.

"No, he came to get me," Rapunzel said. "He stopped when his foot got caught."

Toothless let out a howl at that moment and bounded to the edge of the clearing, away from the school.

"Is Hiccup that way?" Rapunzel asked gently. The dragon seemed to nod as he bounded again. He stretched his wings and flew a few feet before crashing back to earth. Toothless let out another cry.

"We don't have time for him," Astrid said. "Every second Stormfly gets further away, and we don't know where they went. Hiccup will just have to catch up on his own."

"That's not going to happen," a man said.

The teenagers turned and saw the Captain of the Guard of Corona riding up on Maximus. In front of him, her hands in chains, sat Heather holding Hiccup's wand.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"With all the outsiders coming in for the challenge," the guard explained, "the King and Queen asked me and Maximus to patrol and ensure that the Princess was safe. I was on the other side of the arena when the fight broke out. I urged Maximus on, intending to stop the fight, when Maximus took off on his own. I trust this horse with my life, so I followed his lead, and we encountered the Princess's friend being dragged off against his will. I gave chase, but this one," he gestured to Heather, "was the only one I could catch. The others did some magic voodoo to get away."

"I knew we should never have trusted you," Astrid said. "Where's Hiccup?"

The girl started to cry. Jack could hardly believe it. He hadn't been super close to Heather but she just seemed so nice. How could she have betrayed them?

"I didn't mean to," Heather said, sniffling. "I didn't want to. I didn't know that's what they were going to do."

"Who?" Jack asked.

"Alvin the Treacherous," Heather said. Jack had no clue who that was but the other Vikings seemed to know the name.

"Who's he?" Merida asked.

"Only the most treacherous Viking from our tribe," Snotlout said.

"He betrayed Stoick the Vast years ago and almost got him killed," Astrid said. "Stoick banished him and he became chief of the Outcasts. That's probably the tribe that attacked Scotland. He showed up on Berk a couple of weeks ago looking for the Dragon Conqueror. The chief wrote us about it and warned us to be on the lookout. Never thought he'd send a little girl to do his dirty work."

"So … this whole time, you knew you were going to betray us?" Jack asked, still having trouble processing the new information.

"I didn't know what it meant. Alvin kidnapped my family. He said they'd let them go if I snuck into the school and pretended to be a witch. I was to learn everything I could about the Dragon Conqueror. I've been reporting back to him periodically. He didn't tell me that he was going to kidnap Hiccup. I thought he'd want me to steal the dragon book or something."

"You dirty little-" Astrid started. Merida held out her hand, interrupting.

"No, let me," Merida said. "You dirty little-"

"Girls stop!" Rapunzel called, "You can yell at Heather, or you can find out where she took Hiccup. I think time is pressing."

"Right," Astrid swung out her axe. "Where's Hiccup?"

"They mentioned Outcast Island," Heather admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Save it," Astrid said snatching Hiccup's wand off the girl. "Great. My boyfriend and my dragon have been kidnapped."

"I can go after Stormfly," Jack said. "Camicazi went after the ice elves, right? I know where they live and I can go faster by myself."

Jack waved his staff and took to the air.

"Are you sure you're good alone?" Merida called.

"Fine," Jack said. "I'm just stopping one girl and one dragon. The rest of you have to go after a whole tribe. You'll need all your manpower. I'll catch up with you after I stop Camicazi from starting a war with the ice elves."

And with that, Jack was off, flying to the Winter Woods as fast as he could.

* * *

Hiccup struggled, but even he knew there was no getting out of the metal shackles binding his hands behind his back. Even if he could make it out of the chains, he would still be stuck on a Viking longship.

There was a brief moment earlier when he'd thought he was going to be rescued. He could hear a horseman behind them, and he wiggled out of the Viking's grip to call for help. But no sooner had the horseman given chase, than the Vikings apparated away taking Hiccup with them.

Hiccup had never apparated before, he felt like he was turning inside out. He definitely preferred riding dragons. When he came out of the apparition, all the Vikings were on a boat. The leader, who had introduced himself as Alvin the Treacherous, gave the order to set sail and locked Hiccup in the hull of the ship.

Hiccup tried to count the Vikings on board with him but he couldn't get a solid number. A lot of them looked alike. He couldn't tell if he was counting double or not. There were at least more than ten, probably more than 30. Whatever the number, Hiccup knew his odds of escape were slim. Especially without a dragon. Or his wand. Or his friends. Were they still fighting? Had Rapunzel managed to heal Queen Elinor?

The hatch to the hull opened and Mildew came down. Hiccup glared at him with as much hate as he could muster.

"Dad's gonna kill you when he finds out," Hiccup said.

"Humph, that idiot couldn't figure out where you are if we'd left a signed note," Mildew grumbled.

"Don't count on it," Alvin said coming down. "We 'ad to leave Heather behind. The girl's likely to spill the beans. But no matter. I've got my prize."

Hiccup scowled as Alvin ruffled his hair.

"What do you want with me?" Hiccup demanded.

"Why, yer gonna be my new dragon trainer. My men 'ave been capturing dragons since we first heard about Berk's Dragon Conqueror. First, we thought you'd be able to help us kill 'em. But then 'eather and Mildew set us straight. You're gonna build me an army."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Hiccup said.

"We'll see," Alvin said with a smile. He took a few things and went back up, leaving Mildew with Hiccup.

"Why did you do it?" Hiccup asked, "Why would you betray the Hooligans?"

"Because of you," Mildew said, poking Hiccup in the chest with his dragon toothed staff. "You know, I used to feel sorry for you. The scrawny little squib runt. But even then I was jealous."

"Jealous?" Hiccup asked. He could hardly remember encountering Mildew before he got Toothless.

"Yes," Mildew hissed. "Your father gave you special treatment. Letting you stay in town, sending you off to school. Not building a house for you on the other side of the island so that it takes nearly an hour to get to town."

Hiccup had never felt like he'd been given special treatment. He always felt like a failure in the eyes of his father. But he supposed it was true. When his secret about Toothless got out, it could have been construed as treason, seeing as they were at war. He could have been imprisoned, or banished like Alvin. And if that happened, he wouldn't have been able to steal the other dragons and teach the Dragon Riders to ride. Almost his entire tribe and Toothless would have been killed by the Red Death.

Then something else Mildew said registered in his brain, "Wait, _you_ live on the other side of the island."

"Oh, very good. It's clear to see why you're the brightest boy on Berk," Mildew said rolling his eyes. "Yes. I was Berk's other Squib-runt. No letter came for me. My parents did what all other Viking parents do with runts."

Mildew paused as Hiccup let that sink in. Of course, he knew the old Archipelago tradition. Only the Strong can Belong. Runts were to be put in a basket and set adrift in the sea. But to his knowledge, it had never been enforced on Berk.

"But you still live on Berk," Hiccup protested.

"Yes, but only because I washed right back up on Berk a day after they set me adrift. I was always treated as an outcast, and a failure. I accepted it. That's what comes from being a squib and a runt, says I. Until you came along and I saw how they treated you differently. First, Stoick abolishes Viking law about runts, then, he constantly protects you against dragons. I says fine, let the father protect the kid. But then, you started to do magic. And now, you've got the whole entire village worshiping the ground you walk on, while they still treat me like dirt."

"I'm sorry," Hiccup said, with genuine concern. He knew what it felt like to be left out. He remembered the struggle. He couldn't imagine living for decades like that. And to have the rules change … because the chief had a new son, well, it would make anyone jealous. It still didn't make what Mildew did right, but at least Hiccup could understand why. Well, almost why, "But why did you sell me out to Alvin?"

"Alvin was the only Viking on Berk who was ever halfway nice to me. When Stoick banished him, he might have banished me as well. My loyalty went with Alvin. You'd be surprised what being nice can do to people."

Hiccup didn't doubt it. It was being nice to a dragon that changed his whole world. Now, he just had to hope that somewhere out there, Toothless was on his way to rescue him.


	22. Imprisoned

Rapunzel shifted uncomfortably on the red dragon's back. Snotlout assured her that he wouldn't light himself on fire. Something about flammable saliva. It might have instilled confidence in the girl, except that Snotlout immediately followed it up with a pick-up line. Rapunzel was so not ready for that after witnessing Hans try to kill Jack. She was over romantic relationships. Now to rescue her friend.

The group of teenagers had wasted quite a bit of time on discussions. First, Rapunzel had to convince the Captain of the Guard and Maximus to stay at Hogwarts keeping Heather under control and moving the still petrified Vikings away from the petrified Scotsmen. It took a long time but in the end he caved into her request, especially when she pointed out that Hiccup was probably taken to an island, and thus a dragon was much better equipped to find him.

Merida then had to convince her suitors, who wanted to go with them to kill Vikings, to stay with the Captain. Merida convinced them by explaining that, One: The Captain of the Guard might not actually know the difference between the Vikings and Scots and needed their help; Two: They only had four dragons, and there were ten teenagers ready for the rescue mission, and it would go up to eleven if they were successful; and Three: all the Vikings they were going up against were wizards. With tensions so high between muggles and wizards, Merida thought it best that they didn't add more fuel to that fire. Regardless of who won, it could look bad if a gang of muggles attacked a wizard tribe, no matter how justified.

Reluctantly, the three Scotsmen agreed to stay behind. And so now the five Vikings and two princesses were flying off to rescue Hiccup. Astrid was in the lead on Toothless. Luckily, Hiccup had been re-examining the tail that he had given to Toothless for Snoggletog and had left it in the grove with the dragons. All she had to do was switch it out so Toothless could fly without anyone manipulating a foot pedal.

Merida flew just behind her on her broom, while the twins and Fishlegs trailed behind on their respective dragons. Rapunzel could have tried to fly on a broom as well, but with her long hair in the way, she was worried about balance.

Rapunzel supposed she could have ridden with anyone, but she figured she'd be least likely to slow down a big dragon. Since Barf and Belch already had two riders, that left Hookfang and Snotlout, or, as Snotlout called them, Snotfang.

"So what's the plan?" Rapunzel called, brushing her hair out of her mouth. In all the excitement, she hadn't had time to rebraid it. Just as well. Going to fight, she might need to use it as a weapon, or heal her small army.

"We know the general direction of Outcast Island. Once there, Toothless can smell Hiccup," Astrid called.

"What do we do when we get there?" Rapunzel asked.

"I let Hookfang blast 'em. Annihilate!" Snotlout pumped his arm in the air and the dragon let out a fire blast. Rapunzel flinched.

"Don't worry, babe, he won't blast you," Snotlout said, turning to Rapunzel. If she hadn't been afraid of falling off the dragon, she would have tried to move away from him.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Merida said, pulling back to between Astrid and Snotlout, "We're facing an entire tribe. Might not diplomacy be a better strategy?"

"Diplomacy? That doesn't sound very fun," Tuffnut said.

"Yeah, I wanna blow something up!" Ruffnut added.

"Outcasts are super mean and evil and -" Fishlegs started hyperventilating. When he calmed down, he said, "Why can't Hiccup ever have nice adventures involving tasty rocks?"

Astrid called back, "Merida's got a point. We aren't very numerous. It might be worth trying diplomacy first. But I wouldn't trust an Outcast as far as I can throw 'im."

"I think I might have an idea," Merida said with a sly smile. "You game for danger, Rapunzel?"

"Oh … what fun," Rapunzel said, starting to feel sick. Like she hadn't been in danger dozens of times before. She was scared to pieces, it was true, but seeing as Hiccup was depending on her, she really had no choice. She had to be brave and strong for him.

* * *

Jack sped over the land and sea as fast as the wind would allow. He'd never gone this fast before. Trees shook with the force of his wind if he got too low. He only hoped he was going in the right direction.

He hadn't been lying when he told Astrid that he knew where Camicazi was going. Except he wasn't certain that she knew where she was going. Jack never found an official map to the winter woods, he crashed there by mistake a few years ago. But if Camicazi was looking for ice elves, that was where they would be. Even if he couldn't locate her, maybe he could give the elves a heads up.

In only a few hours, he'd made it across the ocean. But no time to congratulate himself for breaking the record for fastest ocean crossing ever. He had a mission.

Jack slowed down as he reached the snowy woods. Last time he coincidentally met his biological father. He wasn't sure if he wanted to meet his dad again or hoped he ran into someone else first. Truth was, he wanted to find Camicazi first. If he could stop her without the ice elves knowing, well, that would be the best option.

"You won't make it," a shadow said. Jack ignored Pitch and kept flying. He couldn't afford a distraction now. He couldn't let Pitch get the war he craved.

Somewhere ahead, Jack saw a fireball flare above the trees. It had to be caused by a dragon. Jack summoned a strong blast of wind to blow him to it.

Sure enough, in the center of a clearing Camicazi sat on Stormfly. Jack flew at her, grabbing her arm and dragging her off the dragon, dropping her in the snow.

"You have to call this off, Camicazi," Jack said frantically. "You don't know what you're doing."

"Come to die with your kind, elf?" she sneered. Jack held in his anger. He couldn't let personal feelings get in the way of stopping this war.

"If you've got a problem with me, take it out on me," Jack said, holding his arms out, leaving his chest unprotected. Camicazi took the bait, shoving him to ground. Jack didn't even fight her off.

"Traitor!" she yelled. "Your whole kind needs to be exterminated."

"Do we?" a woman's voice said. Jack looked around. Coming out of the trees surrounding the clearing were dozens of tall men and woman. Most of them had long white or platinum blonde hair and pointy ears. Otherwise, they looked just like regular humans. Well, aside from their fashion sense. Their clothes seemed to be made out of leaves, or frost, or frosted leaves. It looked very natural and yet eerie.

"Please, she didn't mean it," Jack said, getting up. He took hold of Camicazi's arms this time. She struggled against him, but he was stronger.

"DIE ELVES!" the girl called out.

"Don't listen to her," Jack said. "She's just mad at me."

"And who are you?" the same woman said, stepping into the clearing. She appeared to be the leader of the elves.

"I am Jack Frost, Son of Jokul," Jack announced. "I am sorry to come into your woods. I'll take her and the dragon and go. We won't bother you again."

"Jokulson," the woman said. "I have heard of you."

"You … you have?" Jack asked. It was one thing for everyone at school to know who he was, or everyone in his village. But he didn't think he was anywhere near popular enough to be known about in an isolated elf community. Even if he technically was one.

"Yes," the woman said. "It is because of you that we all have to remain here in the winter woods, instead of roaming free like we normally do."

"What?" Jack asked, reeling back. "I haven't done anything!"

"No. But your enemies have," a male elf said. "The shadow that spreads the rumors about us."

"And reveals us," another elf said. "I had a nice little home in Russia. Everyone thought I was a human. Until the shadowman outed me."

A chorus of elves murmured in agreement.

"But I had nothing to do with that!" Jack protested, letting go of Camicazi in his surprise.

"The shadowman said you did," an elf said, coming closer. "If not for you, the shadowman would not be bothering us."

"Ranfi, enough," the leader said, holding up her hand. "The boy cannot be blamed for the actions of others."

Jack sighed with relief, "Thank you. I'm really, really sorry for any trouble my actions have caused, and I hope-"

Jack was cut off as he noticed Camicazi charge. She ran straight to Stormfly, kicking the dragon, making her send out a blast of hot fire. The ice elves instantly countered it, freezing the flames in midair. Jack jumped on Camicazi, pinning her to the ground.

The elves seethed with anger. The wind around them started to flare up, surrounding Jack and Camicazi. The leader approached them and pulled Camicazi away from Jack.

"You will pay for this insult!" she said to her forcefully.

"NO!" Jack called. The elves hesitated. All eyes on him. Despite what she'd done, Jack still liked Camicazi. He couldn't let her be hurt by the elves. Besides, Jack doubted that she was the only witch to hate ice elves. If she was hurt by them, she would become a martyr for those seeking to destroy the elves. Jack took a deep breath, "I had nothing to do with what the shadowman did to you. I didn't know about it. I didn't mean for it to happen. But her attack was my fault. I lied to her and, because she was mad at me, she tried to do this. Please. I'll take full responsibility for her attack."

The elves examined him quizzically. Even Camicazi was giving him an odd look. Finally, the Queen Elf spoke.

"Are you certain you are a son of Jokul?" she asked. "If I remember him correctly, he never took responsibility for anything. Not even his own actions, let alone those of others."

"I am not my father," Jack said. "I won't make the same mistakes he did."

The wind made a strange whispering sound as it whistled through the trees. Jack realized he was hearing the elves talk amongst themselves. The language of the ice elves. But he didn't understand it.

Finally the elves nodded. The wind died down and two other elves stepped up to Jack, taking his hands. They held them together and a thick layer of ice formed around them. They did the same thing to Camicazi.

"No!" Jack called. "You're supposed to let her go and take me."

The Queen Elf spoke, "The council needs time to think on the matter. You and the girl will face trial in one day. And then we will decide if we accept your substitution. Take them to the Block."

The queen waved her hand and the teenagers were marched into the woods. Jack gave one last glance back at the dragon. The elves were ignoring her. Stormfly started preening herself. Jack hoped he could get Camicazi to take her back to Astrid. He'd need her to tell his friends what happened to him. He'd also need to convince her not to attack the ice elves again, he doubted they'd show as much mercy if she attacked a second time.

The elves took them deeper into the forest than Jack had ventured last time. They came to a huge hunk of ice. Jack wouldn't exactly have called it an ice palace. It was far too crude and natural. Maybe more like an ice cave. A huge ice cave. The elves pushed them into a small opening in the cave, then sealed it off with ice. It wasn't quite dark inside. The ice only muted the light. At least that was something. Jack could see the cavern stretched on, turning off into different passages, though he suspected that any other openings would be sealed off. Jack leaned up against the ice wall and slid down so his knees were at his chest.

Camicazi tried punching and pounding on the ice, but it held fast.

"Why did you do that?" Camicazi asked when she finally gave up.

"Do what?" Jack asked as he turned his hands over, looking for any fault in the ice handcuffs and finding none.

"Offer to trade yourself for me. What's your angle?"

"You are … or were... my friend. I know something made you hate me. But I still care about you, Camicazi. That's why I came to stop you."

"Ha. You just came to warn your wicked brethren."

"Yeah. I guess that, too," Jack admitted, "but only because a war would be bad for everyone, the elves and the wizards."

"There wouldn't have been a war," Camicazi protested. "I could have destroyed them all."

"I was able to stop you by myself," Jack pointed out, "and I'm only a half elf."

"Half elf? Is that allowed?"

"You've seen 'em. They can pass as humans," Jack said. Camicazi scowled at the ice wall and struck it again. Jack sighed, "Forget it. It's too thick."

"And I suppose you should know. Being a stupid elf and all."

Jack couldn't hold back his anger anymore. After all, it wasn't like he had anything to lose. "What is your problem. What did I ever do to you?"

"You lied to me," she said.

"About being an ice elf?" Jack guessed.

"Yes. You could have told me. I thought we were friends, but you tricked me. I didn't find out until I saw your hair turn white."

"Oh, sure," Jack said sarcastically, "tell the girl who just swore to murder all ice elves that I was an ice elf."

Camicazi paused. She looked at Jack coolly then sat down next to him.

"I guess so. But if you'd told me, I would have had time to adjust my thinking. Until I found out about you, I didn't know there were any good elves."

"What made you hate us anyway? What did we ever do to you?"

"You … you ..." Camicazi started, then paused and thought about it, "I guess nothing. But I felt like elves have done something to me. I've had so many nightmares."

"Nightmares." Jack rolled his eyes. Now he understood. It all added up. Camicazi's nightmares, the elves' problems: Pitch _was_ targeting them. And they were probably right that Pitch was doing it because of Jack.

Camicazi kept going, "And then the shadow started visiting me."

"Shadow?" Jack questioned, though he knew where this was going.

"Yes. The shadow always came when I wasn't sure what to do. He encouraged me to go hunt down the elves."

"I hate to break it to you, but that shadow is probably Pitch Black."

"Oh, I knew he was the Head of House."

"You knew it was Pitch? And you listened to him anyway? Didn't you know he was fired?"

"He said he got canned from the school, but only because the headmaster listened to a stupid elf."

"That stupid elf would be me," Jack said, "and I got him fired when my friends and I were able to prove that he was behind the attacks that turned students into _fearlings_."

"Oh. He left that out."

"You really need to fact check this stuff, Camicazi. Just charging in on wild assumptions like that could get you in trouble. I won't be able to protect you again."

Jack looked around. He wondered what the elves would have in mind. Since Camicazi's attack had been unsuccessful, maybe they would be lenient with him. At least they seemed more reasonable than the muggles in his village. Jack had no doubt that if Camicazi had done this in Burgess instead of the winter woods, he would already be facing execution.

Burgess. What would happen to his mother when she found out? She had to know what happened to him. He didn't want to be the third man to disappear from her life. And his sister … they would have no one to take care of them now. His friends were off fighting Vikings trying to rescue Hiccup. Maybe, assuming they were successful, they could take turns watching out for Emma.

"Camicazi," Jack said softly, "you have to apologize."

"What? Bog-Burglars do not apologize."

"Please, for me. For your school and for all wizardkind. If you apologize, the elves will be more inclined to let you go. I need you to tell my family and friends what happened to me. They have to know. And don't hold back what Pitch has been telling you."

"And why should I, Elf?" Camicazi said. "How do I know this isn't one of your tricks?"

"Would I trick you?"

"You always play tricks," Camicazi pointed out.

"Fair point. But there's nothing to be gained from my doing this. I didn't have to stick up for you. I could have let them take you and they would have let me go free. But I chose to take your place, and all I ask is that you tell my friends what happened to me. The elves could decide to execute me, in which case this is my last request. Please. If you ever liked me at all, you'll tell my friends."

"Okay. I guess I can do it," Camicazi finally agreed. The two of them fell into a calm silence. Jack felt like crying. He might never see his family again. His friends … He hoped they were able to free Hiccup.

"I swear I heard something," a young girl's voice echoed in the cavern. Jack's head perked up. He knew that voice. Camicazi got up, too, bracing herself for a fight.

"Wait, Camicazi," Jack instructed. "Wait for all the facts."

Camicazi nodded, but held her stance. As Jack expected, the person who came through the cavern was not a threat. It was his little sister, Emma. And behind her, a man who looked vaguely familiar to Jack. He shared Emma's rounded face, and the same ear shape. Jack was almost certain. This was Emma's father, John.

* * *

Hiccup slumped in his cell on Outcast Island. He'd lost track of how long he'd been here. Alvin was constantly messing with anything he could use to make out where he was or what time it was. After the boat arrived on the island, Hiccup was taken to an underground cell.

He saw dragons, dozens of dragons, in cages. Hiccup refused to say anything about them. He wouldn't give Alvin what he wanted. So he ended up locked in a tiny barren cell. He hadn't been given any food or water. He suspected Alvin intended to starve him into compliance.

Hiccup wished he had a window, a shaft of light. Anything. So he could keep an eye on the horizon, to see if anyone was going to come for him.

"They won't you know," a voice said. Hiccup jumped up and looked around, but there was no one. No one, but the shadows. Hiccup scowled.

"I suppose you're behind this."

"Well, that's hardly a shock now, is it?" Pitch said. "You and your friends have put an end to too many wars. It is time you are used to start them."

"War? That's what you're after? Come on, no one profits in a war," Hiccup said.

"Fear does. It didn't have to be this way, you know," Pitch said, the shadow around Hiccup moving, sending a shiver up his spine. "If you had stayed out of my affairs, I may have left your little island alone. But you chose to mess with me. You forced me out of the school and turned my own daughter against me."

"You did that yourself," Hiccup said.

"No! She just needed more time. She was going to come around to me. But then she sided with you and your friends. And now, you're going to pay."

"By selling me out to Alvin? Kinda a lame plan. I'm sure my friends are on their way to rescue me." Hiccup wasn't really sure. But he had hope. He trusted they would come. After all, he came for them. Surely at least one of his friends thought he was important enough to rescue.

Pitch gave a dry laugh, "Oh, don't worry. You aren't that important. I couldn't care less whether a handful of teenagers comes to your aid or not. But I've given Alvin the idea to destroy Berk now, haven't I? And that deranged fellow. I helped him along with it, too. Whether you are rescued in the next hour, or you stay here fifty years, I will have the fear of everyone and everything you love. You will suffer, just as I've been making Flynn and now Jack suffer."

"What did you do?" Hiccup asked, unaware of what had befallen his friend.

"May you live long enough to find out," Pitch said with a laugh. His shadow disappeared leaving Hiccup alone. He curled up into a ball. He just had to wait for rescue. His friends would come. He was sure they would. Eventually he drifted off to sleep, and then the nightmares came.

In his dream, he saw Berk on fire. That wasn't so unusual. Until recently, it was almost always on fire. The difference this time, was that the dragons responsible for burning down the village were being ridden by Outcasts. He watched helplessly as most of the villagers were driven into the ocean, and a scauldron came up out of the water to eat them. Then the nightmare got worse. He saw his friends and his father pinned in the cove he'd trained Toothless in. And Toothless, being ridden by Alvin, shot them down one by one. Seven shots in total, one short of his shot limit. Shooting down Astrid, Jack, Merida, Rapunzel, Fishlegs, Gobber and his father. Then the dragon turned on Hiccup, and fired the final blast.

Hiccup woke up to excruciating pain. For a moment he couldn't think. The pain stopped and he saw Alvin on the other side of the bars, his wand raised. Hiccup realized he must have been under the effect of the cruciatus curse.

"Time ta start yer work," Alvin grunted.

"No … " Hiccup said, shaking his head. "I won't help you."

" _Imperio_!" Alvin cast. Suddenly, all thoughts left Hiccup's head. He felt like there was something he was forgetting. Something important. But he couldn't think of it. He got up and walked to the door. That was funny, the door had bars.

It was very hard to think as he walked. Every time a thought started to solidify, it seemed to float away. But Hiccup knew it was important. He had to concentrate. Eventually he managed to remember that he didn't want what Alvin wanted. He managed to stop.

"Well, looks like our dragon trainer isn't as weak as 'e looks," Alvin said. The curse cut off. Hiccup could think clearly again. But it was too late. Alvin gave him a shove and he fell into an arena, much like the Dragon Academy on Berk, except underground. And he wasn't alone. A heavy-set pair of adults were in the arena with him. Dotting the walls of the arena were several barred cubbyholes. Hiccup could hear the dragons inside fuming. After a moment, Alvin and the other Outcasts appeared in a well-protected box near the top of the arena. It was sealed off with an iron net.

"I intend to get some use out of you boy," Alvin called. "You can either train my dragons, or you can feed 'em."

And with that, the gates on the dragons' cages went up. A whispering death twisted out, diving into the ground. Then a scauldron blasted boiling water at the couple. They screamed and ducked. And finally, a changewing materialized in front of Hiccup. Hiccup held perfectly still as the dragons surveyed him. In his head, he was already planning his escape.

The changewing finished sniffing him and moved on to the couple. They screamed and started running in different directions, startling the dragons, making them blast their fire.

"HA!" Alvin exclaimed as the whispering death came back up and nearly got the woman. "Have fun explainin' ta 'eather how you lost 'er parents."

Hiccup hated himself for what he had to do. But there was no choice. Even if Heather had betrayed him, he couldn't just let her parents die.

"STOP!" Hiccup called. It took a minute, but the adults stopped. The dragons, however, did not. The changewing lunged at the couple. Hiccup got between them and it. He held out his hands to both. The dragon stopped and tilted her head. Hiccup moved very slowly around the dragon, putting his hand out toward its muzzle. The dragon sniffed it, then leaned into the touch. Hiccup guided the dragon with his hand as the ground rumbled.

"You need to get on the dragon," he explained to the couple, helping them hold out their hands for the dragon to sniff. Though clearly terrified, they obeyed Hiccup's instructions, and climbed onto the dragon's back just as the whispering death leapt up again. Hiccup wasted no time in climbing onto the changewing and directing it into the hole the whispering death created.

The changewing barely fit in the dark, tiny hole, but it was enough to protect them from the boiling water of the scauldron.

Heather's parents remained remarkably silent. Hiccup supposed they were just too scared to speak. It wasn't long before the whispering death came at them again, from a different hole that bored into the earth. Now, with the Outcasts out of sight, Hiccup approached the monster. He'd never trained a whispering death before. They didn't come to Berk often. The dragon roared. Hiccup took a deep breath and held out his hand. The dragon seemed to calm down a bit, but then just as Hiccup tried to approach it from the side, it dove into a new tunnel. Hiccup jumped back onto the changewing and guided it down the whispering death's new tunnel. He kept the dragon close on the whispering death's tail, chasing it further down. The Vikings sitting behind him trembled.

"Don't worry," Hiccup said to them. "The whispering death hunts from underground. If I'm right about where we are … "

Suddenly the tunnel started going up, and the changewing burst into the light. Hiccup looked back. He couldn't see any buildings. They were on the surface of the island. Several rocky formations stood, and among them, several wild dragons. As Hiccup urged the changewing to fly away, a net came out of nowhere, ensnaring him and the dragon. They were dragged back into the hole, back to the arena.

Hiccup and the humans were cut free from the dragons. The dragons were recaptured and locked back in their cells. Hiccup and Heather's parents were taken to a new cell. This time, they took Hiccup's metal leg. He was still trapped.

In the darkness Heather's father asked, "How did you do that?"

"What? Are you asking how I trained a dragon?"

"Yes," the woman said, sniffling. "Alvin told us you could. He said that's what he was making our Heather find out. But we didn't believe him. We were so sure she'd been eaten."

"Heather's fine," Hiccup reassured them. "She escaped. We can as well. I can teach you how to train a dragon. If Alvin tries that again, we can all escape."

"Please, teach us," the couple replied. Hiccup started doing what he did best: Teach people how to train dragons.


	23. Coming Together

Jack stared at his father. Well, not his real dad. But this was the man who was married to his mother. Who took care of Jack as a child. Until he abandoned them.

"Who's this?" the man asked Emma. Emma ran over to Jack. He carefully moved his hands so the ice binding them wouldn't touch her.

"It's my brother Jack," Emma said embracing Jack. He lowered his arms to return her hug.

"What are you doing here, Emma?" Jack asked, his mind still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Your brother? But he looks like one of them," the man said. Jack scowled.

"You know, if you'd hung around long enough, none of this would be new to you," Jack quickly searched his brain for the name his mother used, "John."

For a long moment, the man stared at Jack. Finally, he spoke, " … Jackson?"

"Took you long enough," Jack said, releasing his sister from their hug.

"What's going on?" Emma asked.

"Why don't you show my friend Camicazi around down here," Jack said, indicating the blonde girl. He was glad they'd come to an understanding. This was going to be tough enough without a pipsqueak of a girl screaming 'death to all ice elves' every minute. Camicazi took the hint and let Emma lead her away.

Alone, Jack and John stared at each other. Jack was glad his power was locked in his staff or the man would be in a block of ice. John was the first to break the silence.

"You're all grown up," he said with a soft smile.

"No thanks to you," Jack replied icily. John sighed and looked down.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," John said, rubbing his head. "I didn't mean to leave."

"I've heard Mom's version. Tell me yours," Jack demanded.

"I … I was angry. And drunk. I let my temper get the best of me one night. I … I don't remember it exactly. But when I came to my senses, I knew I'd done wrong. I couldn't bear to face you and your mother."

Jack could hear the ice cracking with his temper. If his powers weren't locked in the staff, he'd be causing a full on blizzard.

"You were embarrassed?" Jack snarled. "Mom and I nearly starved. But it's okay, because your reputation was more important than our lives!"

"Well, hey, it's not like I left on my own," John said, getting defensive. "I admit I was wrong. But I was thrown out."

Jack didn't quite remember the night but he remembered his mother told him John left after Jack accidentally blasted him away.

"I was seven!" Jack yelled. "And you hit my mother."

"I'm sorry," John said, falling to his knees. Jack could see cracks forming in the ice around him. Jack took several deep breaths to calm himself. Even if he was angry, it was no excuse to let his powers get out of control. He wasn't seven anymore.

Emma and Camicazi ran back into the room.

"Jack," Camicazi said, "there's a heat vent over here. It will melt the ice."

Jack looked down at his hands. The ice handcuffs were not melting against his skin as they had on Camicazi. He nodded and followed the girls to the vent. As they walked, Emma raved about John. She explained how she was taken to the ice cave by a shadowman, and how John showed her the heat vents and shared his food with her.

Jack had very mixed feeling about him. On one hand, the man had ditched him and his mother. But he also remembered how he'd longed to find his dad. How he'd sought him out because he needed to know. How the Slytherins had made him feel inferior for not knowing. He wasn't entirely sure he was happy with the results he got but at least the question was answered. Emma did not even have memories of a father. While she was probably not a witch, and would never have to face Slytherin bullies, Jack had not given up the idea that she should have a future. And while he wanted to shield her from John so that she'd never be hurt if he walked out again, Camicazi had shown him the danger in keeping secrets. If Emma found out about her father later, if she found out that Jack had knowingly withheld information, well, she would hate him. They might never be able to make up.

As soon as the ice around his hands melted, Jack knelt down so he was on his sister's level.

"I'm really glad you're alright," Jack said, rubbing his sister's shoulder, "and you like John."

Emma nodded and smiled, "He's the best. The only reason I didn't go crazy here. Well, that and playing the games you taught me."

"Good, good," Jack muttered. "You know, we've met him before."

"We have?" Emma asked. Jack glanced up. John stood in the entrance to the cavern.

"John is your father," Jack said, loud enough for both to hear him. Emma stared at him with her big brown eyes. Finally she laughed.

"Oh, I get it, it's another of your tricks."

"Would I trick you?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Emma replied flatly.

"It's not a trick," John said, approaching the children. He put his hand on Emma's shoulder, "I wondered why you resembled my wife so. You're just as beautiful as she."

Jack looked at John. He really did look like he loved her. Jack wondered if the man had ever looked at him like that. Probably not, seeing as he was part of the reason John left in the first place.

Emma, though, did not appear to see the love. She backed away, finally turning and running off in the opposite direction.

"Camicazi?" Jack said. The girl nodded and ran after his sister.

"She's really mine?" John said, a catch in his throat.

"Born seven months after you left," Jack confirmed, "and mom never dated anyone after you. She had her hands full with us."

John sighed and rubbed his head, "I'm really, really sorry, Jack. I never meant to hurt you."

"I know," Jack said, his voice still frosty, "but you did. That winter, just before Emma was born, mom was too weak to do anything. I was just a kid, and I had to do all the chores. I had to scavenge the forest, to find anything I could. Digging up roots from under the snow, fighting squirrels for the last nuts from the trees. Catching the squirrels if I could."

Jack started to feel the hopelessness he felt that year. He hadn't thought of it in a long, long time. As soon as Emma was born, life got fun again. His mother resumed cooking and made deals with the villagers to get supplies. Jack was free to play again, and now he had a sister to play with. But supplies were always tight. Jack brushed away a tear that had formed.

John walked over and patted him on the back, "If I could do things differently, believe me, I would. I thought about coming back so many times. I could never bring myself to do it. If I'd known about her … I think I would like to come back."

Jack pulled away from his ... He supposed _step-dad_ would be the closest term. He didn't want to give him a second chance. He didn't want the man back in their lives, to hurt them again. But Emma should know what it was like to have a father. Emma shouldn't suffer because Jack wanted to hold a grudge. Besides, grudges weren't his style.

"How did you end up here, anyway?" Jack asked.

"After I left you, I drifted. I kept thinking I was going to go back. But one day turned into another, and so on, I drifted farther away. I wound up in Arendelle. But not a day went by that I didn't think of you and your mother. And … something that I always suspected your mother of." John glanced away.

"I'm sixteen," Jack said. "I know what you thought. Mom told me."

John nodded, "I heard about the ice elves in Arendelle and it got me thinking that maybe I'd been wrong about my wife. But right about you."

Jack looked at him quizzically. John looked down very suddenly, his face reddening.

"Now, don't take this the wrong way, my boy," John said apologetically. "It was just a thought … but I … well, I started to wonder if you were a changeling."

"A changeling?" Jack asked. He'd heard of them, but didn't know the term off hand.

"A fairy baby," John explained. "Strange things always happened around you. I thought … and please, forgive me ... I thought that maybe our child had been replaced by a fairy child. Perhaps one of these ice fellows. I set out to the Winter Woods to see if I could find any truth to my feelings. The elves, though, are a nasty bunch. They took my questions as insults and locked me in here. I've been alone here ever since."

Jack took a minute to process that. Now he remembered. They covered changelings in History of Magic. Apparently, a good many muggleborns had been assumed to be changelings by their muggle parents, especially if the muggles were unfamiliar with the Wizarding community. It was not unheard of for these children to be abandoned. He supposed he was lucky that his mother had never thought of it.

"Your first thought was right. I'm not your son," Jack said, "but I wasn't a changeling. Mom knew my father was the ice elf Jokul."

John nodded, "I can't say I'm surprised. But you're sure Emma is mine?"

"Mom had her hands full with me. She didn't have any boyfriends."

"I wonder if she'd take me back," he said. Before Jack could answer, Camicazi and Emma came back. Emma ran up to John and hugged him.

"I'm glad you're my father," she said. "I just didn't know how to take it. I never knew I had a dad. But now I'll have a real family."

Jack slowly backed away. He wished his reunion with his real father had gone as smoothly. He remembered the disappointment he felt when his real dad almost killed his friends. John was not like that. He might be untrustworthy. He might abandon them again. But Jack could tell from looking at them that he was, at least in intent, a good person. Jack sighed.

"I think … I think Mom would be happy if you came back," Jack admitted. "Besides, my sister needs someone to take her home."

"What?" Emma said, going to her brother. "You're going to take me home."

Jack looked up from under his hair, "I can't leave here."

"But there must be some way to escape," Camicazi said.

"No. Even if we found a way out, I can't go." Jack sighed, "Look, I may not be a prince or anything, but you don't go five years hanging around with two princesses and a Viking heir without picking up a few political strategies. The elves only agreed to let you go if I stayed, Camicazi. If I go back on my promise, they may take it as an act of war. I have to make things right. I have to stay. Maybe I'll get lucky. Maybe they'll let me go with a scolding or something. But I have to accept it. No matter what."

"Are you sure you're the boy I raised?" John asked with a chuckle. "I don't remember you being so responsible."

"I was seven." Jack shrugged, "and it wasn't like any of that stuff was important. So what if I once rigged all the chimneys in Burgess to blow soot back when brushed? Or accidentally tricked all the girls into dying their skin green"

"You what?" John asked, alarmed.

"Long story." Jack said quickly, "but none of that mattered. All of them could see I only wanted to have fun. I took the beatings for my mischief, sure. But I was back at it the next day. This is different. This isn't a game. If I don't make this right people could get hurt. My friends. My family. And worse, my arch enemy will get more powerful because of it."

"You're too young to have an arch enemy," John said.

"No," Jack said, "I really do have an arch enemy. It's a long story."

Since the four of them were trapped, Jack spent the rest of the night telling them the story of the past couple of years. How he learned he was a wizard. What went on in school. He held nothing back. It wasn't like he would get another chance to tell them.

* * *

Merida looked back at Rapunzel. The two girls shared a small raft as they approached Outcast Island. Rapunzel's hands were lightly bound, but Merida knew she could get out of it if she needed to. This was about appearances.

"You ready for this?" Merida asked. Rapunzel shivered but nodded. Merida used the paddle to land on the island. Immediately, several Vikings ran up to greet them.

Merida straightened up as she looked at their weapons. Not so different from what the clans used. She wasn't going to be afraid of them.

"Listen up, ye Vikings," Merida said as she stepped off the raft. "I'm a traveling merchant. My boat was destroyed by a dragon. But I've still got one piece of cargo left."

Merida tilted her head to indicate Rapunzel, whose chest was heaving under the gazes of all the thuggish Vikings. Thankfully, the Vikings were listening, not attacking.

Merida continued, "Call your leader, and gather your tribe, and I'll give you a demonstration of what she can do. Whoever makes me the best offer can keep 'er."

The Vikings glanced at one another and shrugged. Most of them ran off to gather their tribe, but a few stayed with the girls.

"That's a lot of hair," one said.

"Aye, and once everyone is gathered, I'll show you what it can do besides grow," Merida said. She and Rapunzel went a little further into the island. She needed to be able to get all the Outcasts close to them, without cutting off their exit. As long as she could still see her raft, she figured they were good.

After about ten minutes, two dozen Vikings stood around her.

"What's this about?" a man who was clearly in charge said. "It better be good, girly."

"Oh, it is," Merida assured him. "Is this all of you?"

"All who aren't currently occupied," the leader, whom Merida assumed was Alvin, said.

"You might wanna get them all here," Merida said. "This is truly a remarkable power, but it can only be used once a day. If the others aren't here to witness it, they could be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. I happen to know that she's worth at least 30 ostrich eggs. Probably double."

Astrid had told her ostrich eggs were very valuable in the Archipelago. Merida didn't know why. Certainly they were rare. But her clans weren't very interested in them, that was for sure. Still, at the mention of the eggs, the Viking's eyes widened.

"All's here that's gonna be here," Alvin said.

"Alright," Merida said. "Now, I need someone injured. A prisoner perhaps? Someone you've recently beaten?"

"What makes you think I'd beat a body?" Alvin asked. Merida looked the big, thuggish guy up and down. It was clear he was a violent man, but she didn't know what to say to not offend him. Then he broke the tension by laughing and punching one of his cohorts.

"There, injured enough for you?" he said, shoving the Viking he'd punched forward.

"I suppose, though a visible injury might be better. Do you have anyone with a missing leg or something? And I really would recommend a prisoner, after all, there might be some unpleasant side effects. Wouldn't you rather they occurred on someone you don't care about?"

"You 'aven't even told us what you're gonna do. I needs me prisoners, lass. I ain't lettin' you take 'em from me."

"Oh, did I forget to mention what she can do?" Merida said, hoping that Astrid's portion of the plan was working. "She can heal."

"Everyone can heal, lass. We're wizards."

"Aye, but not magical injuries. If a body is cursed, even the best healers can't undo the damage. But she can. That's why I'd like to have someone with a severe, visible, injury. Perhaps a leg taken off by a dragon? And I really think a prisoner would be best. At least for the demo. Then, once you own her, you can cure all the rest of your sick and injured. Everyone," Merida concluded. She waited. Behind her, Rapunzel trembled. The Vikings seemed to consider her proposition. Some of them looked confused, but most looked hopeful. Merida needed to sweeten the deal, "Besides. Just imagine, you can hurt your prisoner as badly as you like, as often as you like, and you'd never have to worry about damaging him beyond repair. You can hurt him again after the healing. It's guaranteed to make any prisoner compliant."

The leader turned, "Savage! Go fetch the boy!"

* * *

The muggles looked around the field once they'd separated the Vikings from the Scots. Each one's eyes showed terror as their paralyzed bodies were moved, but the lords' sons ignored it. Hate, betrayal, terror. They could handle those things.

"What now?" Young Macintosh asked, surveying the field.

"We ought to go after Princess Rapunzel," the Captain of the Guard said, riding up. "I don't like her being out there in danger."

"Did you see what she did?" Wee Dingwall said. "That lass ain't in no danger."

"I've been employed by her parents to keep her safe. I don't care how competent she is. It's my duty to see that she and the kingdom are safe from those who would harm them. But it's also my job to serve. And she clearly instructed me to stay here."

"Please, you have to let me go!" Heather said, struggling where the boys had tied her to a tree until she could be taken to jail. "Alvin will kill my parents!"

"Humph, don't listen to her, boys, prisoners will say anything to get free," the Captain said.

"No! Please, I know what I did was wrong," Heather said, her head tilted down, tears in her eyes, "but I did it because I love my parents. I need them. Please. Alvin is ruthless. He will kill them. You said you wanted to help your friends. They need your help. Please, I can lead you to Outcast Island. You'll never find it without me."

The lords' sons glanced at each other. They had a silent battle over what to do. Finally, they nodded.

"Suppose we did take your deal. How exactly," Macintosh asked, "would you advise us to get there? We're all muggles."

Heather looked down, "I don't suppose you'd happen to have a boat?"

The lords' sons held another silent debate. They had come in a boat. All their clans lived on the water. But long boats needed lots of rowers, at least if they wanted to go fast. And they had three to five, depending on Heather and the Captain, who had turned his attention back to the task Rapunzel had assigned him.

"Hey!" The boys turned to see a pre-teen girl dressed in green and a boy about their age. They recognized the boy as the one Merida had 'officially' taken to the dance, Todd.

"Did Merida run off with that Slytherin again?" the boy asked.

"No, a better question is, did Jack run off with the Gryffindor," the girl said.

The boys looked at each other. MacGuffin answered.

"Aye and Nay," he said. "Jack wen' off afta the Sly'rin lass, Merida wen' afta the Vikin'."

The two newcomers looked determined. Todd said, "And did I hear that you're going after them?"

"Hav'n't decided," Dingwall answered. "We're lookin' after this frozen lot. Don't know when they'll come out o' it. Might hafta stop the fightin' again. How long is a body petrified for?"

"Don't worry, kids. We're here!" a woman said, fluttering down from the sky.

"Professor Toothiana?" the two magic students asked.

"Yes. Sorry. We all got called away suddenly in the middle of the tournament. Looks like we missed a lot. What happened?"

Quickly, the kids and the Captain filled her in. Toothiana stomped her foot.

"It's Pitch," she whispered. "He must have know about all this. He lured us away so we wouldn't be here to protect you."

"Ah, we all came out in one piece," Dingwall shrugged.

"But 'ow d'we get the clan home w'out a brawl again?" MacGuffin asked.

"Oh, I can help with that," Toothiana said. The others looked in shock, surprised that she could understand him. Toothiana continued, unaware of their shock, "The Guardians can take them home. We already know where they all live."

"Erm, thanks," Macintosh said. "Guess we're on a rescue mission. Now, how do we get there?"

"I think we can help with that," the little girl in green said with a sly smile, "or I'm not Iolanthe Peverell!"

"Oh, and I know just the thing we'll need to bring," Todd said. "Merida keeps it in her room."

* * *

When dawn broke Jack was feeling fairly tired. After telling his story, he hadn't gotten much sleep. His family kept asking questions. Camicazi was nice, though. She helped him explain the more magical elements of his stories.

All in all, though, Jack was not ready when the ice cracked and the ice elves stepped in, but he forced himself to get up, to face them.

"Ready for the trial?" the queen elf asked.

"Yes," Jack said, though he didn't feel ready at all, "but if it's all the same to you, I'd like to take on these muggles' crimes as well."

Jack indicated his sister and father who were just starting to wake up. The elf queen glanced at them disdainfully.

"I suppose. As long as they all promise never to set foot in the Winter Woods again."

Jack nodded and let the elves lead him out of the prison. The others followed. They were taken to a clearing. Jack could see Stormfly sleeping nearby. Good, the dragon hadn't taken off. Camicazi and his family could fly back to Hogwarts on her. Hopefully, Hiccup would be rescued and the others would be back then. As they reached the open space, the elves held Camicazi and the muggles back. Jack was thrown forward.

"Jackson Jokulson," the queen said. The elves surrounded him from the edge of the clearing. "You have agreed to take the place of three prisoners. Do you still wish this?"

"I do," Jack said clearly, "as long as you let them go."

"So it is agreed," the queen said. The elves holding the other prisoners let go. John started to back away. Jack could see he was terrified of the elves, but when he saw the girls weren't moving, he stayed with them. Jack turned his attention back to the queen.

She was still addressing him, "The girl's penalty had not yet been determined. Since you have taken her place you shall determine it. Who will be the challenger?"

Jack was suddenly very nervous. What was the challenger? And what kind of penalties did they have? It couldn't be a simple, clear law like, if you try to start a genocide you'll be imprisonment for five years or something. The wind whistled. Jack could tell the elves were talking amongst themselves, debating who would do the challenging. Finally, a tall figure stepped forward.

"Oh, let me. This is going to be fun," the elf said. Jack recognized him. It was his real father Jokul. What a time for a family reunion.

* * *

 **A/N: DemigodseaMeg16: Your questions will be answered in a couple of chapters.**


	24. Escape

Toothless flew silently over the island. The smarter Viking girl was on his back. She wasn't as good as Hiccup. She'd replaced his normal tail with the self-control one that Hiccup had made him for the winter holiday. Toothless didn't like the tail. It was more uncomfortable than his regular one, and opening it put more strain on the outside of the fin. That's why, as soon as he'd recovered Hiccup's helmet, he'd ditched the new tail for the old one.

He'd thought Hiccup discarded the old tail. But now he was glad he had not. If he had had to rely on Astrid making the adjustments in the tail, they wouldn't have made it anywhere near the bad island. She was sitting all wrong. She leaned back when Hiccup would have leaned forward. She kept moving her knees around, and her pleated skirt poked into his sides.

He supposed she was just used to flying on a Deadly Nadder. Nadders weren't as sleek and aerodynamic as Night Furies. Moving around on one wouldn't add as much drag as it did on him. Still, Toothless should be grateful that Astrid had some idea of how to ride him. She was much better than Stoick. And she didn't hinder his tracking.

He could smell Hiccup in the air. It was faint, but it was there. They reached the bad island as dawn was breaking. Toothless wanted to keep going, to find his boy, but Astrid forced him down on a nearby island. There, she and the others cast some spells, making logs roll together. The not-Vikings stood on the floating logs and went to the island. The dragon riders mounted their animals and watched from the sky. All except Toothless and Astrid. Silently they flew over the heads of the bad men who rushed out to meet the girls on logs.

Toothless used his nose as a guide, expertly tracking Hiccup to under a group of rocks, while Astrid managed to pull him back in time to keep from being seen. Eventually, all the Vikings left, and Toothless and Astrid descended. Now the girl took the lead. She went to the rock Toothless pawed at, feeling Hiccup's scent was strongest there.

The girl pulled out her wand and muttered a few charms, the rock rolled back and led into a tunnel. She and Toothless walked in together. Toothless gave out a cry he'd not had to use before. The sound echoed back to him, and he could sense where things were in this strange cave. He followed his echo right to where he felt a skinny human shape.

"What was that!" Astrid asked him as they walked toward the cell. Toothless made a noise to answer her, but he knew humans were not as good at understanding dragons as they were at understanding humans.

"Astrid! TOOTHLESS!" Hiccup called, the boy knelt by the bars of his cell. Toothless ran up to the bars and licked Hiccup. Astrid followed a step behind him.

"We're here to rescue you," Astrid said, taking out Hiccup's wand and passing it through the bars. Hiccup took the stick.

Toothless prepared to blast the lock off the door.

"No!" Astrid called, getting in front of him. Toothless held the shot in. Hiccup looked at her quizzically. Astrid explained herself, "Your Hogwarts friends are distracting the Outcasts. If you leave now, the Outcasts might seize them. But don't worry. We have an extraction plan. Hide your wand. The Outcasts should come take you out soon. Wait until you're with your friends. Then we'll cover you from the air for your escape."

"Great," Hiccup said, "except what about Heather's parents?"

Hiccup pointed further back in the cell. A couple huddled together in the darkness.

"She wasn't lying?" Astrid questioned.

"Nope, I guess not. They explained how Heather was forced to hide around Hogwarts and make friends with us. I can't just leave them here."

Astrid sighed, "Okay, don't worry about them. After the Outcasts take you, Toothless and I will help them."

Hiccup agreed to the plan and explained it to the older couple. Then Astrid laid down and Toothless covered her. In the darkened cave, they were nearly invisible. Sure enough, soon the Outcasts came and dragged Hiccup out. He had to hop along on one foot, as his artificial one was missing.

Once they were gone, Astrid used the unlocking charm on the cell and ushered the adults out. They followed Toothless out of the cave with Astrid calmly explaining things along the way.

* * *

"The rules of the challenge are simple," the queen said. "You fight, and we watch and judge. If you win, it proves your innocence. Anything goes."

Jack did not understand the logic behind the challenge, but he wasn't about to question the elves. Even muggles had different rules and customs from wizards. It was no surprise to find the ice elves did as well.

"I need my staff," Jack said. The queen nodded and tossed it to him. Jack turned to face his father.

For a moment, they stared at each other. Jack did not want to fight. He wasn't naturally aggressive, especially in a real, high stakes fight like this. Escalating prank wars were more his style. Finally, his father sent a blast of ice at him. Jack dodged, rolling to the side. He didn't strike back.

"What's the matter, son?" Jokul called, sending another blast for Jack to dodge. "Afraid to hit me?"

Jack wasn't about to admit it, but yes. He was afraid to hit his dad. The elves had said if he won the fight he would be free. But if he accidentally killed Jokul, what if they accused him of murder? Besides, his sister was watching. He didn't want to scare her.

"Go for the throat!" Camicazi screamed as another blast almost hit Jack. He twirled his staff and the wind deflected the ice.

"Not helping!" Jack called back. He touched his staff to the ground, freezing it. Then Jack ran across the newly formed ice, sliding down it, using his momentum to knock Jokul over. Jack recovered quicker than his father but he knew he'd only bought a minute of time. What could he do that Jokul couldn't? In all his fights, he'd always been up against humans. Bringing the temperature down a little usually was enough to beat them. But that wouldn't work against another ice maker.

But Jack wasn't just an ice elf. He thought with a smile. He was also a wizard. He shouldn't be trying to rely on the powers the elves used. Jack twisted his staff and a breeze carried him into the air. He took a moment to look around and see his surroundings before the wind knocked him down. There were a couple of humans and a reindeer nearby, and a river was frozen solid. But Jack couldn't think of how to use them. The elves couldn't fly. They could command the air, same as him, and they were light enough to be blown in the wind, but without a wizard-made staff they couldn't control their flight with much precision.

Okay. Advantage one. Not that Jack could think of a use for it yet. Another blast of ice came, almost hitting him, but he rolled out of the way. This time he did strike back, waving his staff, blasting Jokul back with wind.

Jack stood up on shaking feet.

"Hey, you throw like a girl," Jack called out, hurling a snowball at his father. Another ice blast came. Again Jack dodged, but he was getting tired. He couldn't keep this up forever, and his father, being a full elf, had stronger magic. Jack didn't doubt that if the ice struck him he would be dead.

As Jack jumped to avoid another blast, his shin caught on a rock. Oh how he wished he had a wand instead of his staff.

Wait a minute.

The Guardians said his staff could function as a wand, didn't they? Now was the best time to test it.

Jack thought of all the spells he'd learned, finally settling on a curse that Hiccup taught him in his first year to combat bullies. It was a simple leg-lock charm, but it did handicap the elf. As Jack dodged again, he slowed down, catching his breath. Big mistake.

He didn't see the ice blast coming until it was almost upon him. Jack twirled his staff and jumped up into the air, but he was too slow. The ice hit his foot. Jack fell back to earth, clutching the wound.

A sharp pain ran through him. He could feel the cold chilling him to his bone. Normally, cold temperatures didn't bother him. But this was not a normal pain. He could feel the chill creeping up his leg. This was it. He'd lost. He couldn't move out of the way again. One more blast and he would be dead.

"NOOO!" Jack heard Emma scream. "Get up! This isn't fun!"

Not fun. Emma wasn't having fun. Jack couldn't let that be her last memory of him. He had to make it fun.

Jack rolled over and grabbed a handful of snow. He blew on it, non-verbally casting the spell, before hurling the snowball at his father. Jokul stopped in his tracks. Was it Jack's imagination, or were there blue sparkles in front of his eyes? Then he let out a laugh and picked up some snow. When the snowball hit Jack, it didn't hurt. Jokul started laughing. Jack quickly made more snowballs, casting the charm and hurling them at all the elves. Soon all the elves were in on the fun. Emma and Camicazi even ran to join.

"The boy wins," the Queen Elf announced, mirth on her face as the fun fight came to a stop. "For the girl's attack there will be no punishment."

"Hooray!" Jack's friends called. Jack started to limp over to them. The pain in his foot had subsided a little, but he still felt a bit weak.

"Wait!" the queen elf called. Jack stopped. He could see that the enchantment was starting to fade from her. The queen continued, "I said for the girl's crimes you are free. But you have also volunteered to take on the offence of the older man. He failed his trial by combat. And so you must remain with us for the remainder of the sentence he received, five years left."

"What!" John shouted. "The kid won. You can't do that."

"I would hold my tongue, human," the elf queen said, her frosty demeanor returning. As Jack looked around, all of the elves seemed to be losing the glow his snow had caused. His spells were made for humans, not elves. The effect must not be as strong. They didn't lose themselves in the euphoria like the humans did. The queen continued, "Or you will face the challenge again and we will keep you both."

"It's okay," Jack called, wincing as a pain ran through his leg again. "I'm good. Just go home. Take care of Emma … and tell Mom what became of me."

The elves nearest Jack took his arms. Jack looked at his father Jokul. He wasn't smiling, but he looked amused. Jack couldn't tell if he was pleased that Jack was under arrest or not. He offered no help. Jack hung his head in defeat as the elves escorted him up from the clearing.

"NO!" Emma called. She pulled away from her father and ran towards Jack.

"Go, get out!" Jack yelled at her. But Emma didn't stop. She ran to him, hugging him around the middle. One of the elves pulled her off, throwing her in the snow nearby. Emma started to cry. Jack turned away from her. He couldn't help.

"HEY! You can't do that." Jack turned as another voice entered the mix. Standing at the edge of the clearing was Flynn Rider, a reindeer, and a blonde boy.

* * *

Rapunzel shivered in the cold as she waited. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Mother would kill her. Not that it mattered anymore. Everyone had seen her use her hair now. There was no way to keep it a secret anymore. She would have to move back to her tower for good. No more school. No more lessons. She might not even be able to visit Merida anymore. Back to wondering when would her life began. Assuming, of course, that Merida's plan didn't get her killed or worse.

Finally, Hiccup appeared. The evil Viking had his arm in a vice-like grip, which was the only thing keeping him from collapsing since his leg was missing. Hiccup was thrown forward to them. He looked up at the girls, clutching his stomach with his left hand. To the Outcasts, it would have looked as though he were in pain, But Rapunzel saw his hand slip under his vest, and the bottom of his wand peak out. Good. Astrid succeeded. Now it was her turn.

She carefully checked that her hair was not actually touching any Vikings. She didn't want to accidentally heal any of the enemy. She also made sure it was not touching Hiccup. She remembered his protests that everything got better after he lost his leg. Not to mention, if it did work and heal his leg, it wouldn't grow back his shoe, and he might have trouble escaping with a brand new bare foot. Not to mention it could mess up what Merida was doing.

"Flower, Gleam and Glow," Rapunzel sang. Her hair started to glow. The Vikings stared in shock as the power flowed down the locks. They were completely distracted. Just what she wanted. They didn't notice Merida pulling a thick twig from her bag and tying it on Hiccup's leg. They didn't notice the other dragon riders flying overhead. And they didn't notice Toothless, until it was too late.

The dragon walked up behind the Vikings and fired a blast just as her hair stopped glowing. The shock knocked all the Vikings back. Hiccup jumped on him as Rapunzel grabbed the end of her hair and threw it like a lasso overhead. Hookfang caught it in his claws.

Before the Vikings knew what was happening, Rapunzel had wrapped the middle section of her hair around herself and Merida, and the dragon lifted them into the air.

Now, seeing their prizes escape, the Outcasts recovered from their shock.

"Man the catapults! Shoot them down!" the leader, Alvin, called. Rapunzel grabbed her hair with both hands and started trying to climb up. Merida followed suit, but they had not made it a foot when a weighted net came flying up from the ground, entangling the two girls. The momentum and the drag from the net knocked Hookfang lower. He recovered before he hit the ground, but now the girls were in closer range of the weapons.

Before they could be hit, Hiccup flew lower. He used the severing charm to cut them free from the net. Hookfang started to fly higher again. Soon the teenagers were almost out of range.

"What's the matter?" the leader of the Outcasts called in a mocking tone. "Does the little runt need girlies to rescue him? Stoick shoulda cast you off, Runt!"

Rapunzel had never seen Hiccup's face turn so red. Normally, he let insults slide off. But not this time. He turned Toothless back on the Outcast. Toothless drew back a breath, readying to fire, when a net came from the side, downing Toothless and Hiccup. Binding them together back on Outcast island.

* * *

The blonde boy, Kristoff, took getting robbed rather well, Flynn thought. If two big burly guys and a devilishly good looking young man tried to steal his ice cart, he would have been mad. But Kristoff took it in good stride.

He listened to Flynn and Rocky's explanation of what happened. He didn't even seem mad at Flynn for helping the Stabbingtons rob him. When Flynn asked why, he just shrugged and said, "I learned to roll with it. You got to when you're a muggle orphan, isn't that right, Sven? 'Yeah. Humans stink.'"

Flynn hadn't heard anyone talk for an animal before. He hoped it wasn't catching. The last thing he needed was to start sounding weird by talking to random animals. It would throw off his whole 'charming' thing.

"So, let me get this straight," Kristoff said after Flynn finished the story. "You want to go to India to steal teeth and a crown, but first you have to go somewhere to find your friend's sister, all while pretending for those guys that you're going to help them become millionaires?"

"That's about it." Flynn replied.

"And you're a wizard."

"Yep."

"Can't you use magic to get away from them?"

"Maybe," Flynn admitted. "But I got expelled. The wand I'm using isn't mine, and it's not so strong. Besides, I only got a five year education. The norm is seven years plus apprenticeship in your field of choice. I know the basics. But I don't know everything. And have you noticed the atmosphere out here? Geesh. You seem okay, but man, some of those muggles would lynch someone for just having a wand. If they caught me using magic against the Stabbingtons … not pretty."

"Yeah," Kristoff agreed. "Ten years ago, I could walk around and tell just about anyone I lived with the trolls. They thought I was lucky. Now, they tried to accuse the trolls of kidnapping me. Guess they think it's better to live on your own in the wilderness than be taken in by a loving family that happens to be magical. Thanks for rescuing Jorfi anyway. Grand Pabbie will sleep better when he's back in the Valley of the Living Rock. I hope you learned your lesson."

"Don't worry," Rocky said as he waddled in front. "I won't do that again. I'll stay righ-"

Rocky suddenly cut off, sniffing the air.

"I smell her," he said. Flynn glanced back at the Stabbington brothers, both sleeping in the cart. Flynn had slipped them a sleeping potion earlier, intending to give Kristoff a chance to get free. But the boy didn't take it. After Flynn shared the story of what happened to Emma Frost, Kristoff refused to leave until the girl was found. Kristoff unhooked Sven and the three of them followed Rocky as he crept into the chilly woods. Flynn shivered.

"Geeze, it's cold. What month is this again?"

"It's the winter woods," Kristoff replied. "Home of the ice elves. Not half as friendly as the trolls, but civil enough if unprovoked."

"Um … I think they may have been provoked!" Flynn said, pointing to a large congregation of elves surrounding a clearing.

"The girl is that way," Rocky said. The group hurried toward the clearing, coming just in time to witness a little girl being thrown to the ground … and Jack Frost being led away. Flynn couldn't understand why his friend was there, but he knew he needed to stop this from happening.

"HEY!" he shouted. "You can't do that!"

"Uh, Flynn," Kristoff whispered. "You really, really shouldn't do that."

All the elves stopped and turned toward the newcomers. Flynn swallowed. He didn't know what he was doing, but he had to do something. Fortunately, Rocky decided to help. The troll rolled into the clearing popping out in the center. Some of the elves laughed.

"What's going on here?" Kristoff asked, joining Rocky in the clearing. The queen elf's face softened. She explained how the witch, Camicazi, attacked them, followed by Jack's offer to take her place, and another prisoner's place. Flynn was pleased to hear how Jack got off for what Camicazi did, but was dismayed when he learned that Jack wouldn't be freed. All because some old guy hadn't fought right.

"It's okay, Flynn," Jack said, leaning heavily on his staff. "I accept this. Thanks for coming after my sister."

"But this isn't fair," Flynn protested.

"Ice elves don't live by the same rules we do," Kristoff said gently. "But don't worry. I know the rules they do live by."

Flynn looked at him quizzically but Kristoff just smiled. "Friends, acquaintances, I know you have already determined the sentence for that man. But in light of recent events, a change could be useful. You said five years in prison for his crimes. But look at the talent this boy has. He could do nothing locked up in a prison. But, if you let him wander freely for those five years, imagine how much good he could do for your reputation. You have seen how he inspired you to have fun. What if, rather than spending five years in prison, he spent those same five years making people associate ice elves with fun? Huh? He could be a spokesperson for you, as I am for the trolls."

The wind whistled in a whisper. The elves considered the proposal. Finally the queen nodded.

"It is agreed. The boy will be in service to us for five years during which time he can come and go as freely as he pleases, so long as he always defends our reputation."

The elf clapped her hands and the wind picked up. Flynn closed his eyes as the snow blinded him. When he opened them again, all the elves had gone but one. The one who had fought Jack.

"Nice battle, kid," the elf said. "Almost makes me proud of you. Of course, you cross my path again, I will kill you."

And with that the elf was gone.

"Who was that?" an older man asked Jack.

"My father. My real father. My stepdad's over there." Jack pointed to the edge of the clearing where two humans were waiting. Jack thanked them for helping with his sister and getting him out of trouble.

"Now how do we get out of this creepy magic place?" Jack's stepdad asked.

Jack smiled, "Don't worry. I got that covered."

* * *

Hiccup didn't know what had come over him. He wasn't a Berserker like Fishlegs. He didn't normally have fits of random rage. He usually made the smart move. That was why he never fit in on Berk, or in the Viking world at large. But nobody had ever actually called him runt before, at least not to his face. People skirted around the fact that the name Hiccup was a common name for runt, and they tried to be gentle when they spoke about him. Well, at least in regards to being a runt. They didn't show such care when talking about how much he screwed up. Add to the insult the fact that he was tired, tortured, starved and very stressed … well, logical thinking took a break.

As he lay on the ground feeling terrible for charging into the trap, leading his friends into danger and then wasting the rescue they planned, and getting Toothless captured as well, he thought this was the end. Alvin wouldn't give him another chance. He and Toothless would be chained for the rest of their lives.

Worse, if his friends tried to help him again, they might get caught. Just as Hiccup started to give up, a huge blast of fire surrounded him. Someone landed next to him, cutting him free.

To his surprise, it was not a Viking, or even a wizard. It was four muggles. Young MacGuffin, Wee Dingwall, Young Macintosh, and Heather, not on dragons, but on Thestrals.

* * *

 **A/N: Just a heads up, I am going on vacation next Sunday (to Hollywood and Disneyland). I will still post on Sunday, but it will either be a few hours early, or a few hours late, since I will be at the airport during my normal posting time. I will aim for earlier. I will be back to my normal schedule by the Sunday after, which should be the final chapter of this story, not counting the epilogue/link to Year 6.**

 **By the way, the polls for the House Cup winner (available on my profile) will be open until Thursday night, February 23. Get your votes in!**


	25. The Champion

Jack twirled his staff, casting the summoning spell for his wand before leading the group to Stormfly.

Almost everyone jumped when Jack revealed the tamed dragon. All but Camicazi. She went up to the dragon and scratched it under its chin. The dragon purred and fell over.

"J … Jack, that's a dragon," Emma stuttered.

"Yep. But don't worry. She's quite tame. My friends trained her. My friend … my friend is in trouble," Jack said, remembering Hiccup. "Hiccup was kidnapped by Vikings. I need to go after him. Stormfly can take you home."

"Hold on. If the Hooligan tribe is in trouble, I ought to help," Camicazi insisted. "We're allies now, aren't we?"

"Okay, you can come with me on my broom." Jack held out his staff.

"I hate to tell you, but that's not a broom," Flynn said.

"Well, it used to be," Jack said with a laugh.

"I'm scared of the dragon," Emma said. "Please don't make me ride it."

Jack was about to respond to his sister when the pain shot up his leg again. Jack winced and would have fallen to his knees if Flynn hadn't caught him.

"Hey, that doesn't look so good," Flynn said. He knelt down and rolled up Jack's pant leg.

"I … I'm fine," Jack replied weakly. "Ice doesn't hurt me."

"This doesn't look fine," Kristoff said, kneeling next to him, "but I think Grand Pabbie can fix it. I've seen him do it before."

"It's okay," Jack said, standing on wobbly legs. "I have a friend who's a really good healer. If I can get to her … "

"You don't need Grand Pabbie for this," the little troll said touching Jack's leg. "Heads and hearts are too complicated for most of us trolls but even I can remove the magic from his leg."

The little troll waved his arms and Jack could feel the magic seeping out. Instantly he felt better. Jack jumped up doing a flip in the air.

"Okay, I'm all good. Thanks kid. Now, to find my friends."

"I wanna go with you," Emma protested. "What if the shadow man comes back?"

"The shadow man? Pitch Black?" Jack asked. Emma nodded.

"Okay," Jack consented. "You're coming with me. I won't let him get you again."

He didn't really want to take his sister to go fight Vikings but he also couldn't leave her alone. And if she was scared of the dragons, her fear might draw Pitch right to her. Jack noticed he seemed to pop up whenever he was afraid. Unfortunately, controlling the fear was a lot easier said than done.

"I'd love to go get Pitch with you," Flynn said, "but I've got my own problems. That sleeping spell on the Stabbingtons is gonna wear off soon. It's probably best if I'm there when they wake up. And Kristoff, this is probably a great time for you to steal your stuff back. Take Rocky and get out of here."

"On it," Kristoff agreed. The two men, the reindeer and the troll left. Camicazi climbed onto Stormfly.

"I am not getting on that dragon," John said, backing away.

"You walked out on us," Jack said coldly. "If you don't want a lift on a dragon, enjoy walking back."

Reluctantly, John climbed on behind Camicazi. The dragon and Jack took off, heading out away from the woods, toward the Archipelago. Camicazi led the way.

* * *

"Mom! Dad!" Heather said, looking down on her parents. The muggles looked terrified, but no worse for the wear. Astrid was taking them on a raft to another island.

Heather wanted to descend right there, but the muggle boys she was with wouldn't hear of it. Instead, the two wizard students peeled back on their brooms, while Heather and the boys threw the special cloak over themselves. Earlier, the little Slytherin girl, Iolanthe, and the Gryffindor boy, Todd, had cast an expanding spell so it would cover all of the muggles.

Cloaked, the four teenagers sailed over Outcast Island. At first, Heather thought everything looked good. Maybe they hadn't needed to come. But then, Hiccup dove after Alvin, and became ensnared in a net.

Heather and the muggle boys went after him. It took Heather a minute to realize the Vikings couldn't see them. They'd been flying on Thestrals with Merida's invisibility cloak spread between them. When they landed over Hiccup, it must have looked to the Vikings as though he'd disappeared.

"What just happened?" Alvin asked. The muggle boys wasted no time cutting through the net binding Hiccup and, once he was free, he jumped back on Toothless and the five humans and their mounts took off. The other two witch students had gathered the others and led them to the island Heather's parents were on. Once there, Heather was quick to reconnect with her parents as they all caught their breath from the harrowing adventure.

"Sorry I didn't believe you," Astrid said coming over to her.

"It's okay," Heather said softly. "I'm sorry I had to betray you."

"Next time you're in trouble," Hiccup said, "come to us first. We'd have helped you if we knew."

"Wow, you guys really aren't half bad, are you?" Heather said. "And here I was thinking all wizards are evil and all."

"Not all wizards are bad," Hiccup said. "Just like not all dragons are bad, or not all ice elves … wait, where's Jack?"

The others looked around guiltily.

"He'd better be with Stormfly," Astrid said. She proceeded to tell Hiccup about how Rapunzel healed everyone and Jack went after Camicazi.

"We have to go help him," Hiccup said, climbing back on Toothless. He wobbled a little and almost fell off. Young MacGuffin caught him. Heather couldn't help but giggle as the muggle boy pushed him back up and straighten his hair.

"Uh, you don't look so good," Ruffnut says. "You look like Tuffnut in the mornings. Nobody should be that ugly."

"Yeah," Tuffnut agreed, then what his sister said registered, "Wait, what?"

"She's right," Fishlegs agreed. "You _don't_ look so good."

"Maybe I should ..." Rapunzel offered.

"No. I ... I'm fine," Hiccup stammered, "but we need to go after Jack."

"Well, I'm for getting Stormfly back," Astrid said.

"We should vote on it," Merida proposed. "All in favor of rescuing Jack?"

Hiccup, Astrid, Rapunzel, the Slytherin girl, Merida and the three lords' sons raised their hands.

"All opposed?"

Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Todd and Snotlout raised their hands.

"They don't count, they're muggles," Snotlout said pointing to the lords' sons.

"If they don't count," Hiccup said, "then the score is tied. And who breaks a Viking tie?"

"Oh, I know!" Fishlegs said. "The chief!"

"Right. And the chief isn't here, which means I'm in charge, and I say we go after Jack," Hiccup said. "And anyway, the lords' sons do count. So it's not a tie in the first place."

"What about her?" Todd said, pointing to Heather who'd been staying out of it with her parents. "Well, which side are you on?"

Heather took a step back, "I … I don't want to get involved. I've caused you all so much trouble. And I'm sorry. But if it's all the same to you, now that my parents are rescued, I just want to go home."

Heather paused before adding, "Unless you want me to come back and stand trial for my crimes."

The Vikings glanced at one another. Hiccup shook his head. Astrid rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Astrid said, "you can go. And if you get into trouble again, come to us right away."

"I will, I promise," Heather said, hugging her. Hiccup quickly assembled the others and they took off into the night sky. She waited until they were out of sight before she turned back to her parents.

"Alright, Alvin!" Heather called out. "You got what you wanted. Now let us go!"

From the shadows stepped the Berk Viking known as Mildew, "Good job, Heather. But you're not quite free yet. First, these two 'ave ta spill the beans about what they learned."

"Then take us to Alvin," Heather said, giving her parents a worried glance. She didn't know much about this magic stuff, but she was sure only Alvin could undo the imperious curse he'd placed on them. Hopefully, once they told, Alvin would let the three of them go.

* * *

John stared at the boy as he did loop-de-loops with his daughter. _His daughter._ He couldn't believe it. All these years, he'd been running from his son and wife, when all the time, he had a beautiful little girl to go back to.

Emma laughed in the wind as Jack lifted her up. John sighed happily. He wished he'd known who she was during their long imprisonment together. He could have used that time to connect with her. They'd spent many nights talking. She told him about her family and her village. About how she worshiped her big brother. But he never knew she meant the Burgess or Jack.

He, in turn, had told the girl about his wife and son, though he left out the part about abandoning them. He didn't know if he could ever live that down. At the time, he felt so justified.

Jack had pulled a particularly vicious prank that day that ended up spooking a horse which kicked over a lantern, nearly setting their cottage on fire. He'd been angry with the boy; he wanted to pull the child over his knee right then and there. But his wife convinced him not to. She convinced him that it had been an accident. That Jack never meant to spook the horse. John ultimately agreed with her.

He went drinking with some of his friends. That's where the troubles started. His friends talked about how odd his son was, and how weak he was for not disciplining the boy, and for letting his wife stand up to him like that. And the more he drank, the more he came to believe them. By the time he wobbled home, he was a wreck.

His friends had convinced him that his wife had cheated, which he now knew she had. He wanted to punish her for everything that Jack had ever done, for the way the villagers talked about their family. He wasn't thinking clearly. He struck her. And Jack struck back.

John didn't know exactly what happened. One minute he was yelling, the next Jack was up on the table, his eyes flashing blue instead of brown, and ice blew him out into the cold.

When he came to, he stumbled away from the cottage, and their town. After a week, he'd cooled off enough to realize what he'd done. But it was too late. He couldn't bear to face his wife again, and he was scared of what Jack would do. So he never came back. And then he wound up with the ice elves. Believing Jack to be a changeling, he demanded they hand over the real boy. And that's when they threw him in their prison, where he stayed alone until Emma found him.

As the small group crossed the ocean, John watched Jack play with his sister. The boy flew down towards the ocean so she could stick her hand in, then up through the clouds. The little girl giggled.

"I see them!" Camicazi shouted. In his excitement, Jack let go of Emma. John's heart pounded as she fell, but Jack was quick. He dove after the girl, catching her before she fell into the ocean.

Jack touched the waters and the waves froze, creating an island sized iceberg. Jack set Emma down on the ice. Camicazi landed next to her and Jack quickly dismounted.

"Are you alright?" John asked Emma, checking her as soon as he'd gotten off the dragon.

"I'm fine," Emma said. "I knew Jack would catch me. He always catches me."

"I won't let anything happen to you, I promise," Jack said with a smile. He then jumped up and flew alone towards what Camicazi had seen.

It was not long before he returned with three witches on brooms, five dragons being ridden by teenagers, and three teenagers just floating in mid-air.

A blonde girl with really, really long hair jumped off her dragon and ran up to hug Jack.

"Princess Rapunzel!" Emma shouted. The girl broke away from Jack.

"Hey," Rapunzel said, turning to the girl. "What are you doing out here?"

"Princess?" John couldn't help but ask. Sure. Jack had mentioned being friends with princesses when he told his story, but John figured it was an exaggeration. How could a peasant boy make friends with real princesses? The teenagers either didn't hear him or were ignoring him.

"Kidnapped by Pitch Black," Jack said. Rapunzel and the others gasped. They quickly exchanged stories, introduced each other and shuffled around, picking new mounts. The Viking girl, Astrid, wanted her dragon back, but there was only enough room for one extra person, and she picked Camicazi. John ended up agreeing to ride on the back of what Jack called a 'Thestral', which he assumed was an invisible horse as he couldn't see it. A dimwitted looking teenager, called Dingwall would be sitting in front of him. As everyone mounted their rides, Jack pulled him aside.

"I offered to let you come home with me and Emma because I think she could use a father and because I think Mother would like to have you around. But if you ever hurt them again, if you ever hit Mother or Emma, I will freeze you from the inside out, and this time, I'll know what I'm doing."

John smiled ruefully, "Emma is lucky that she has someone who loves her that much. Though I can't help but notice you didn't include yourself."

Jack gave a crooked smile, just as John remembered, "If you hit me … well, I'd probably deserve it."

With that, Jack jumped into the air and John climbed onto the invisible horse. Jack took his sister in his arms and led the group to the magic castle.

* * *

When they landed back at Hogwarts, they were hardly surprised to see the grounds were empty. The Guardians came running out of the school.

"Where is everyone?" Merida asked.

"We sent all the adults home," Tooth said. "Sorry things got out of hand like that. Pitch must have planned it. During the tournament, my fairies warned me that he was attacking Tooth Palace, and Santa's workshop. We figured Gothi could handle judging the tournament. We didn't know what was about to happen. We'd never have left otherwise."

"What about the other students?" Hiccup asked, dismounting Toothless.

"In their dorms. None of them felt like watching the rest of the tournament."

"I guess Hans won, huh?" Astrid asked.

"Actually … is still in arena," North said. "Never passed final challenge."

"He didn't pass?" Jack said, hope rising. "I don't suppose we could go back in to try and win?"

The Guardians and judges leaned in and had a small discussion. Finally, North spoke.

"Leaving arena should disqualify you … but since had good reason, and Hans is making no progress, we will allow. But must get selves back to arena."

"Not a problem," Jack and Astrid said. Astrid made Camicazi dismount and Jack set his sister down. Hiccup and Rapunzel passed around several spy glasses.

Jack and Astrid landed together in the wooded area of the desert they'd left what felt like eternities ago. Together they walked.

"Thanks," Astrid said after a bit, "for rescuing Stormfly."

"No sweat," Jack said. "I'm just glad I could stop Camicazi before war broke out."

"I know, we'll probably be doing damage control for the next few months … I see it."

Astrid ran ahead, Jack not far behind. In front of them was a locked trunk, and in front of that was an ornate mirror, and Prince Hans staring at his reflection.

"Hey," Jack called, but the prince ignored him. This couldn't just be because he was too focused on appearances. Astrid ran past him for the trunk, but Jack couldn't tear his eyes from the prince. He looked awful. His hair was dusty and windblown from the desert surrounding them. His face slightly stubbly, and his pale skin was raw from standing in the sun. He hunched over as he looked at the mirror. Clearly, he'd been standing there staring at his reflection for the past two days while Jack and Astrid went off on their rescue missions. If they hadn't come back, Hans might have wasted away staring at himself.

"What's so appealing about the mirror?" Jack asked, more to himself than to the other contestants. To his surprise, Hans answered.

"Can't you see it?" he said, his voice raw from disuse. "The mirror reflects the truth. It knows I'm going to be the best ruler in all the world. I will be better than all my brothers, than my father, than all who ever came before me."

Jack did not believe for an instant that that was true, but he could tell that the mirror had some deep enchantment on it. Wasn't Flynn looking for a special mirror when he infiltrated the castle around Christmas? Jack shook it off. It didn't matter. Flynn had a different quest now. Hans was stuck, and Astrid had the treasure. Or did she?

Jack turned back to the girl. She was banging the box with her axe, but it just bounced off. She tried the alohomora spell, the blasting spell, the fire spell, but nothing worked. She screamed into the air.

"WHY. WON'T. YOU. OPEN?!" she said, kicking it. Jack walked up. She didn't try to block him as he examined it. On the side of the trunk were three shaped keyholes. Jack had seen those shapes before.

He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out the crystallized flowers he'd received in the last two challenges.

"Where did you get those?" Astrid asked.

"From the Mountain Troll and a little girl," Jack said, putting them into the keyholes. They each fit perfectly, but a third was still missing. It might have been on the dragon that attacked him, Jack thought, but after a harrowing adventure, he didn't feel much like chasing after dragons. Jack put his hand on the empty space and willed it to frost over, in the exact shape of the missing piece. The lock clicked. The chest opened, and there stood the Tri-Wizard cup.

* * *

The group of students had quite a feast in the Great Hall after Jack Frost won the championship. They were all quite tired and hungry. After all, none of them had eaten in the past two days, so despite their small number, they all enjoyed the feast.

Because there were so few of them, they all chose to sit at the same table, rather than sitting along House lines. Hans had been pulled away from the mirror after Jack won. He didn't seem half as upset about losing as Merida thought he ought to be. He seemed more upset that he wasn't allowed to look in the mirror anymore. Rapunzel quickly dumped him, but he didn't seem terribly bothered by that either, swearing that the mirror had shown him that his destiny was to marry a princess. As long as he stayed out of Scotland and Corona, Merida was perfectly fine with that.

The nurse had checked everyone over, even the muggles, but came to the conclusion that they mostly just needed warm food and a good night's rest.

When the feast concluded, everyone felt ready to collapse, but the Guardians weren't done with them.

"May I have your attention everyone?" Headmaster Ombric called raising a glass. "I would like to commend your admirable heroics. I know you have had a long day, and that the path you have taken was not easy. Nor will the path going forward be easy. But you are proof that our plan succeeded. We set this tournament not to see which school is the best, but to show you how people of other cultures live. To encourage tolerance. With Pitch Black on the loose, differences can make people afraid. You saw what happened between your parents. But look at the lot of you. You, Vikings, Scots, wizards, muggles, ice elves, Durmstrangs, Hogwarts, Slytherins, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, all working together to help each other."

"That's why I won," Jack said to Merida, Todd, and Iolanthe as they were heading back to their dorms. "I helped the troll and the muggle, and they gave me the keys."

"Congrats," Merida said as she turned to go up to her dorm. "You proved you aren't the bigot I thought you were when we met."

"Hey, I still hate you, Gryffindor," Jack said as he and Iolanthe started down the stairs to the dungeon.

"And I you, Slytherin," Merida said with a smile. She started to follow Todd up her own staircase, then changed her mind. She turned and ran after Jack, giving him a big hug.

"I'm really glad you're not stuck in the Winter Woods. I can't imagine Hogwarts without you," Merida whispered. Jack smiled as Merida pulled away.

Jack, Hiccup and Stormfly had all been rescued, her mother healed. Sure, she was going to have to do some clean up regarding the Vikings, but for now she went to bed, happy that all her friends were safe.

* * *

Rapunzel quietly led the way for Emma and Jack's father. After Jack told them what Pitch had done to his sister, the Guardians swore to put a protection on Jack's town. But it was still too dangerous for the muggles to make the long journey home during the night. The Guardians had agreed that they should stay in the infirmary, and make the long journey home the next day. Merida had asked the lords' sons to escort them. The boys were staying at the Inn in Hogsmeade.

Emma kept staring at Rapunzel. Rapunzel nervously brushed back her hair.

She was glad the rest of Hogwarts was asleep. She didn't want to deal with them. What must they think of her hair? The lords' sons and Vikings hadn't made a big deal of it, but considering that they'd dealt with the Queen being turned into a bear and training dragons, they were used to weirdness. The rest of Hogwarts not so much.

Rapunzel hadn't seen anyone since her secret was revealed. How had they taken it? Did they want to cut it? To sell it? Mother Gothel was always saying that the world was a dark cruel place. That they would try to snuff out her light. So far she'd been lucky. None of the people who knew about her hair before ever tried to cut it and take it for themselves. But as Gothel said, it was only a matter of time.

"Well, here we are," Rapunzel said, stopping in the center of the room. She was glad to see none of the cots were occupied. "Pick any bed you like. I'll be in the inner room if you need anything."

Rapunzel left the duo and went down to face Mother Gothel. To her surprise, the woman was asleep. Above her head, a young woman made of sand danced. Sandman must have put everyone to sleep. Rapunzel heaved a sigh of relief. She'd have a little more time to think up an explanation. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she was a little more afraid of Gothel's reaction to her reveal than the rest of the school.

But that was a problem for tomorrow. For now, Rapunzel settled into bed, letting the sweet dreams envelop her.

* * *

 **A/N: Remember, the polls are only open until Thursday (which is when I get back from my vacation)**

 **To the Guest who asked about shipping: At this time, I have no plans to write any 'shippy' works. I may add a few little nods here and there to some of the more popular ships, (I lean toward Jarida or Jeslsa as I don't like breaking up a canon pairing), but overall this is not a dating story and I have no plans for writing one, at this time.**


	26. A Final Prank

Hiccup sighed as he packed up his room. The other schools were leaving today. A few days ago, the day after he was rescued, the whispers had started. Whispers about everything that occurred. Whispers that the Queen of Scotland was killed. Whispers that Hiccup was killed. Whispers that ice elves had kidnapped Camicazi and fed her to dragons. Whispers about Rapunzel and her magic hair.

Even after Headmaster Ombric gave his speech announcing the winner of the tournament and explaining what happened, some of the rumors persisted. Hiccup and his friends tried to curb them but that only made things worse. By the time the end of the year came, everyone knew that Vikings rode dragons and everyone knew Rapunzel's hair was magic.

Since the event, Rapunzel completely avoided all other students. Hiccup didn't know if it was her choice or part of Gothel's punishment, but he didn't question it. They didn't have long to go, anyway.

Finally, the final day arrived. Hiccup sat with the Hufflepuffs as Headmaster Ombric addressed the group.

"I hope that our little challenge has created bonds that will last. We are facing a difficult time ahead. Many of you will go home to changed worlds. But what I hope you learned from this experiment is that help can come from anyone and anywhere. Look at the boy who trained a dragon and ended a war."

Hiccup nearly jumped out of his skin as Ombric singled him out. He wasn't used to being in the spotlight, at least not at Hogwarts. But Ombric wasn't done speaking.

"Or the girl who befriended the muggles." Everyone looked at Merida.

Ombric continued, "The girl who heals. And lastly, and most important, the boy who showed kindness even to his adversaries. It was no accident that Jack Frost won the Tri-Wizard Cup. If the others had shown as much care for the people and creatures they encountered in the challenge, perhaps they would have won instead. But now, for what most of the Hogwarts students have been waiting for, the House Cup winner."

Slytherin won. Their table roared. Hiccup clapped politely. Even though Jack technically won the Tri-Wizard Cup for all of Hogwarts, to the Slytherins it must have felt like they won two cups that year.

After the cheers died down, Ombric spoke again.

"Yes, congratulations. And now I leave you with these words: While there is no official rule as of yet, a good many of us in the wizarding world believe it wisest to keep separate from muggles. The muggles are scared of our kind. It would do you well not to broadcast your powers. By the time many of you graduate … well, there may be an order regarding wizard secrecy."

Ombric stepped down. The feast went on. The Vikings of Berk didn't seem to care. Ruffnut and Tuffnut kept talking about how they loved the dark. Fishlegs shivered nervously.

"Don't worry," Astrid said, leaning over to Hiccup. "We won't let Alvin get you again."

"It's not Alvin I'm worried about," Hiccup whispered back. "Did I ever tell you about Pitch Black?"

Astrid shook her head. Hiccup nodded. He hadn't really thought about Professor Black since he met Toothless. Dealing with his missing leg, trying to hide dragons and keep peace didn't leave him time to think about someone who wasn't around. Except, Pitch was apparently the reason Alvin knew about him. Pitch was the one who encouraged the Berserkers. Hiccup might have more enemies now, but he couldn't forget that his primary focus should be on Pitch Black. For only if Black was stopped could Hiccup bring peace to the Barbaric Archipelago.

* * *

Jack sealed his trunk and started to follow the rest of the Slytherins out. Since winning the Tournament, the other Slytherins hadn't stopped applauding him. Not one of them cared that he was an ice elf or a muggleborn anymore, not now that he brought glory to them. He might have liked the attention except that they made it very clear that they only accepted _him_. All other muggleborns or elves would be subjected to the same bullying. But maybe, now that he was popular, he could make them see the light.

"Jack, a word," Mother Nature called. Jack let the others get ahead of him as he went into her office. She closed the door and vines grew over it, sealing them in.

"Am I in trouble?" Jack asked.

"No," Mother Nature said sitting down at her desk. She didn't look up into his eyes, "Do you remember that prophecy my father stole?"

"The one about the light?"

"Mm hm. The Guardians believe it to be about themselves. But I think my father believes it to be about you."

"Me? But it can't be me. I'm no light."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But that doesn't matter. I have been around for a long time, Jackson. I have lived on many worlds and I have seen many things. Your divination professor may not want me telling you this, but many prophecies do not actually predict the future, but rather what people want for the future. It works in a similar way to the mirror that was a part of the final event. When the Guardians heard the prophecy, they wanted to be the ones to stop the darkness. That is what they saw as the meaning. But I believe Pitch saw you and your friends as the subject of the prophecy because he wanted an excuse to target you."

"Like he needed an excuse. He's been after me since day one. I got detention before the train even pulled into Hogwarts."

"Yes, my father does love to scare children. But I believe, in the beginning at least, they were acts of opportunity. You were a Slytherin and you were prone to trouble. It was easy to go after you and not have his actions questioned in a way he could not go after the others. Once the Guardians started to favor you, though, that opportunity went away. It would, in my opinion, have been best for him to give up on tormenting you and your friends. To seek out other victims that the Guardians were not so friendly with. But his heart has become set on revenge. The prophecy clouds his logic. It makes him think that targeting you is not a lapse in judgment, but a smart move that will save him from losing in the end."

"But why does he want revenge on us? I mean, sure, we got him canned. But if he hadn't done all that stuff in the first place we wouldn't have been looking into it at all."

Mother Nature sighed, "And this is where I must apologize. You see, he knew working in this school was dangerous. He knew he would be outed at some point. I don't think he blames you for that. But I do think he blames you and your friends for me. He has often shown an interest in rekindling our relationship. When I was very young, I loved my father and he loved me. He cannot see that he has changed from the good captain of the golden age to … well, the boogeyman. But I can see it. And I do not accept the new Pitch Black as my father. Because I sided with you in the end, I fear he blames you for the loss of me."

"But it's his own fault-"

"Does it matter?" she said with a dry laugh. "Very few people are willing to take responsibility for their own actions. It is always easier to blame another. And sometimes there is truth to it. I did out him to the Guardians because of you and your friends, though it is no excuse. Because I am his daughter, he would rather blame you than me for my actions. It is unfair. And I am sorry."

Jack sighed, "It's not like I expected him to stop. At least he isn't here anymore. And my family is safe now. The Guardians promised to watch over my home. He won't kidnap my sister again."

"Good," Mother Nature said, putting her hand on Jack's shoulder.

Jack continued, a smile lighting his face, "And if he thinks I'm the kid in the prophecy … well, maybe I can be. Maybe I can stop him like it says."

Mother Nature gave a wry smile, "Do what you have to … but he is my father. And I won't take it kindly if you kill him."

"Whose side are you on?" Jack asked as he started to leave.

"Just … be safe," she said, the vines lifting from the door. Jack skipped out. He didn't know much about divination. He hadn't paid enough attention in class. But if Pitch ever tried to hurt his family again, he didn't care what the prophecy said. He would put an end to.

* * *

As soon as Gothel popped out of the fireplace and saw what was waiting for her, she screamed. Sitting in her favorite chair was Pitch Black. She quickly dropped her luggage, scrambling around to find her knife.

"Now, that's no way to greet me," he said, slowly getting up.

"You are not welcome here anymore," Gothel said, the knife in her hand. Pitch showed no fear of the instrument. "It's your fault everyone knows about Rapunzel!"

"Now, now, my dear," Pitch said, turning into shadow so that the knife went through him. "Everything is for the best."

"How can it be for the best? I've striven to keep her hidden for almost sixteen years now! And she had to go be noble and heroic healing those people. Don't try to fool me. I know you brought the Vikings to Hogwarts. The whole mess is your fault!"

"Yes it is," Pitch admitted, "but it can be fixed. You let the girl have far too much freedom. Through the years, you have tried to scare her with stories of the dark cruel place that is the outside world. But it didn't work. And you know why it didn't work? Because you let the girl _outside_. You let her see that it was not as scary as she feared. And now she doubts everything you tell her. But this might be the opportunity you have waited for. If we can arrange for the one thing you have told her her entire life to come true, she will run back to your arms."

"But what if it doesn't happen?" Gothel sighed. "If those stupid friends of hers manage to protect her, why would she come back to me when she can go to them?"

"Oh, don't worry about them. They might try to protect the girl, but the wars are starting now. I've been slipping into the dreams of the Vikings and the Scots. Very soon, they will be in a war. Rapunzel won't be able to turn to them for protection."

"And Jack Frost? The boy is no leader. He has no kingdom like the others. And worse, he knows my secret. He knows I kidnapped her."

"It doesn't matter," Pitch said dismissively. "Trust me, I have arranged for the boy to suffer. He may attempt to save the girl, but between his own life problems and the world I am creating, he won't be able to offer much support, and it shouldn't take much for you to convince him that Rapunzel is safest with you. In fact, I believe if we play our cards right, the boy might even be an asset to hiding her again."

Gothel smiled and put down her knife, "I'm listening."

Pitch explained his plan.

* * *

Merida sighed contentedly as she settled into the cabin with Jack. He'd already been there for quite a while while she and the others patrolled the train. Jack was alone, making the window frost over.

"No fan club today?" Merida asked, taking her seat.

"Nah, they're all off talking about summer vacation and what not. You know, hot things. They didn't wanna hear me spouting random facts about ice elves."

"You're not going to start with me, are you?"

"No need. You don't hate us the way some of the Slytherins do. I don't need to convince you otherwise."

Before Merida could think of some retort, Rapunzel glided in.

"I'm so glad to be going home," she sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest, wrapping her braid around her legs. "I wonder if I can get them to make one of the others a prefect instead of me."

"You don't like the responsibility?" Merida questioned. "Funny, I always pictured you as a stickler for the rules. Miss More-Perfect-Than-Thou."

Rapunzel started stroking her hair, "I didn't mind in the beginning, although I never liked having to discipline troublemakers – no offence, Jack. But now, with everyone knowing about my hair … I get too many questions. People want to know how it works. Why it's like that. Even if I wanted to tell them, I don't know all the answers myself. I wish they would leave me alone."

"Don't worry," Jack promised. "I'm sure by next year the whole thing will have blown over."

"I hope so," Rapunzel said, pulling her hair in front of her face. "Or maybe Mother is right, and I can't ever leave my tower."

"That's nonsense," Merida said reassuringly. "You can't stay hidden your whole life."

"Yeah, that's no life," Jack said. Suddenly, he clutched his forehead.

"What's wrong?" the girls demanded. Jack shook his head.

"Nothing … it was just a little weird. Like a flashback. But it wasn't me." The girls gave him a concerned look, but Jack shrugged it off, "I'm sure it wasn't anything. Probably I was just up too late last night. Camicazi and I were planning one last prank before the end of the year."

Merida raised her eyebrow, but Jack offered no additional information, just that lopsided grin.

"So … where's Hiccup?" Rapunzel finally asked.

"Last I saw he was patrolling the front of the train. He should be done about now, though. Fifth years patrol first. Then sixth years, and then seventh years. I wonder what's keeping him."

"Hey, guys." a voice said from the window. The kids jumped and turned to see Hiccup on Toothless, flying in pace with the train. Jack lowered the window.

"Aren't you supposed to be on the train?"

"I was showing my friends how to get home from here. They came to Hogwarts in North's sack, but they're going home by dragon. I'll be in soon. Just give me a minute to help Toothless land on the train."

Hiccup pulled away from the window. A moment later there was a thud above them, and then Hiccup dropped down through a hatch into the hall and came into the cabin.

"You aren't worried people will see you on Toothless?" Merida asked.

Hiccup shrugged, "That secret's out. The reason my dad wanted us to keep it secret was to prevent a war. Now that the Outcasts, Berserkers and your clans know … well, there's no real reason to hide Toothless anymore. If anything, now might be the time to flaunt that we have dragons. Maybe it'll make the Berserkers think twice about attacking."

"And the Scots," Merida said. "Young MacGuffin wrote to me. They blame you for what happened to me mum."

"WHAT?!" Hiccup exclaimed. "But Dagur is the one-"

"Doesn't matter to me clan," Merida said. "It was a Viking. That's all my people care about. And it _was_ your fault. You ducked."

"You think I should have taken the knife to the head?" Hiccup yelled, standing up.

"Rapunzel could have healed you same as me mother," Merida said. "And you already knew about her. It wouldn't have started a war."

"I'M SORRY YOUR MOM GOT HURT, BUT I AM NOT A PIN CUSHION!" Hiccup yelled. Merida was a little shocked. She'd never seen Hiccup angry before. But it didn't mean she was going to back down.

"DON'T blame me 'cause you have enemies," she yelled back.

"Guys!" Jack interjected jumping between them. "You're scaring Rapunzel."

Merida looked at Rapunzel. She was huddled inside her hair, holding onto Pascal. Hiccup and Merida both quieted down, but the air between them was still frosty, and it had nothing to do with Jack.

After a long silence, Merida said, "You guys can't come to Scotland over break. Who knows what my family would do to the Viking … and I'm not sure how the muggles have adjusted to knowing about Rapunzel's magic. I'll feel them out to determine if it's safe."

"Yeah. You guys better stay out of the Archipelago, too," Hiccup agreed. "With the possibility of two or three wars … it's not safe."

"Burgess might not be so safe, either," Jack agreed. "The way Ombric talked about keeping muggles and magic separate … I don't know what Father Time sees that I don't, but if there's trouble with the muggles, I bet it hits my town first. It's been brewing there for a long time."

"You could come back to my tower," Rapunzel suggested, "if Gothel lets you, at least. I'm fairly sure I won't be allowed to leave again."

As if to prove her point, a first year knocked on the door. The young boy briefly glanced at Jack, then turned to Rapunzel. One of his shoulders was lopsided, and there were tears in his eyes.

"One of the older students hexed me."

"Okay, I'll go write him up." Merida started to get up.

"No!" the young boy said. "I don't care about that. But my shoulder hurts. Can you fix it?"

"You really should see the nurse about that," Rapunzel said gently. "She can fix almost anything."

"But so can you," the boy said. "I saw you. Why won't you help me? You help your friends … it's not fair."

"O...okay," Rapunzel said timidly. Merida and the others shared a look as Rapunzel caved in, their fight temporarily forgotten. As soon as the boy left, Hiccup took Rapunzel's hand.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," he said.

"Where?" Rapunzel asked.

Hiccup smiled and led her up to the roof of the train. Jack and Merida watched and soon they spotted a black dragon with a long blond tail flying beside the train.

Jack and Merida settled back in the cabin.

"Excited to go home?" Merida asked after a bit.

"Nervous," Jack admitted. "Thanks for getting your suitors to escort my family home. I don't know how my mother took my stepdad's return. I'm not sure what my summer's gonna be like with him there."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Merida reassured him. "He seemed nice."

"Yeah, nice," Jack sighed. "Unless he leaves again."

Merida didn't respond to that. Instead, she changed the subject, "So … when is your prank gonna take effect?"

Jack smiled mysteriously.

* * *

Rapunzel kept her arms tight around Hiccup as they flew through the sky.

"You warm enough?" Hiccup asked as they went through a cloud.

"Fine," Rapunzel replied, shaking the wetness off her head. "Thanks for taking me up here. It's nice to get away from the pressure."

"You don't have to say yes," Hiccup said. "That kid should have gone to the nurse in the first place."

"How can I say no?" Rapunzel sighed. " I mean … I have this gift."

"I learned how to train dragons, but it doesn't mean I have to train the whole Archipelago."

"But you do have to use your dragons to save your tribe," Rapunzel pointed out. "I don't like watching people in pain. I have to help them if I can."

"Do what you need to and we'll support you in anyway we can," Hiccup promised. "But at least you won't have to worry about it until after summer, right?"

"Right," Rapunzel agreed. Then she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Hiccup asked.

"It's just … I've spent my whole life hiding in my tower, trying to prevent people from finding out about my hair. And now they know … I have to run back and hide alone again."

"We'll come visit," Hiccup promised. "And hey, maybe a prince will visit you. You can throw down your hair and let him climb up."

"Oh, didn't you hear? We broke up. I was never all that serious about Prince Hans anyway. But after he tried to kill Jack in the tournament, there's no way I'd go with him."

"Well, maybe there's another prince out there for you."

Rapunzel didn't respond. Instead she dragged her hand through the clouds as they flew. She wasn't terribly concerned about romance. It would be nice and all to have a friend, or life partner or whatever, but she was still waiting for her life to begin. She wanted to do so much, see so much. She hadn't even met her parents yet. Or visited her kingdom. Romance could wait. First, she wanted the adventure.

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from the train. Hiccup landed Toothless back on it and he and Rapunzel climbed back in. Rapunzel could hardly believe her eyes. From every cabin there was … hair. Lots and lots of white hair. Students started screaming and running about. Jack Frost and Merida came out of their cabin, Merida sporting one of the long white beards that the rest of the students wore. Jack had a huge grin on his face.

"You do realize," Merida said, "that I'm going to have to write you up for this."

"Camicazi and I decided to give them something to talk about other than Rapunzel's hair," Jack said, laughing. "We mixed a little something in the food. Then, while you guys were busy patrolling, I used the invisibility cloak to freeze a little of the reactor on the ceiling of each cabin. As soon as it melted: BOOM. Long white beards for everyone. That should get them to shut up about my white hair and Rapunzel's long hair."

"And it was necessary to give me one because...?" Merida prompted. Jack shrugged.

"I thought it would be funny. You know, it really is your color. You should totally think about making that permanent."

"Why, you!" Merida lunged at him, but Jack just laughed. Rapunzel sighed contentedly. For that one moment, everything seemed fine and normal. And she could believe it would be that way again.

* * *

"I'm confused, was that a happy ending, or a sad ending?" -M

"It was an ending." -H

"Ohh … we're entering the climax now, aren't we?" -R

"But we've still got two years to go!" -J

"Yeah, but everything's moving faster. Pitch is on the loose. The world is at war. Everyone knows about Rapunzel's hair. Jack's stepdad is back in his life … And, of course, I'm still way off, stuck with the Stabbington brothers" -E

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like next year?" -J

"At least you don't have two tribes of enemies trying to start a war with your tribe." -H

"No, I've only got muggles, pure-bloods and elf-haters to deal with." -J

"At least people won't be swamping you for your hair … and your mother won't make you stay locked up in a tower." -R

"Hey … did anyone notice? Merida isn't complaining! Oh no! It really _is_ the end of the world." -J

"Oh, come off it! What have I got to complain about? Other than being stuck with the most annoying boy on earth." -M

"Come on, you know you love me!" -J

"We'll see." -M

"Yeah, but I guess we'll have to wait until next time to see. Until then, I guess we kinda live happily ever after." -E

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for this story. There will be one more chapter after this, but it will just be a teaser for Year 6 with a link to it.**

 **Final tally for House Points: Gryffindor: 4; Hufflepuff: 10; Ravenclaw: 17; Slytherin: 18**

 **To the Guest who asked when I update: I update once a week on Sunday until the year is complete. Then I take a break from posting while I write the next year. When that rough draft is ready, I will start posting again on Sundays. If it takes a while to finish the next year, I will periodically update my profile with the status of the next story.**


	27. Epilouge

Dear Hiccup,

Make sure you keep your Vikings out of Scottish waters. My parents and the clans are still on edge about what happened. I don't want another incident. Stay away from here, and stay safe.

Your friend,

Merida

* * *

Dear Merida,

I mean, Dear Rapunzel,

Wait, Dear Hiccup?

Okay, Dear Everyone:

I miss you guys. It's weird having my stepdad back. He's not ... terrible ... but he fits right in with the town. The people of Burgess act like he never left. Mother is so happy. I wish you all could come visit. Unfortunately, I don't think that's going to be a possibility. The Guardians have kept their promise to keep Pitch out of my town but the damage has been done. No wizard is safe in Burgess.

I'll see you at school ... hopefully.

Jack Frost

* * *

Dear Friends:

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles, Jack. Mother keeps bringing me back stories of the outside world and how dangerous it is. But at least my tower is still hidden. I do hope you'll come visit. It gets so lonely with just Pascal to play with.

Say you'll come.

Rapunzel

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Guys! I just discovered something better than Owls! Terror Mail! Basically, using a terrible terror instead of an owl. I know dragons don't frequent your homes as much as mine, but they're far less likely to be disabled by flying over the Archipelago. And with Alvin and the Outcasts, and Dagger and the Berserkers on the loose, it's vital we keep up communications. Write if you need anything and I'll send one of my riders to help you. The Dragon Riders, Defenders of Berk, are on patrol!

Hiccup

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 **A/N: Join them in Year 6: The Big Four and the Shield of Light**

 **Thank you to everyone who read, followed, favorited and reviewed. See you in my next story which can be found at h.t.t.p.s(:)(/)(/)w.w. w (d o t) f a n fiction (d o t) n e t (/)s(/)** 12392565 (/) 1 (/) The-Big-Four-and-the-Shield-of-Light **(remove spaces, dots, parenthesis, replace the word dot with .)**


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